V12 engine for the postwar market in Europe, production of V12-engined-cars was very limited until the 1960s. Ferrari has traditionally reserved their top V12 engine for their top-of-the line luxury sports coupes since 1949. Ferrari's closest rival, Lamborghini has also used the V12 configuration for many of its road cars since the company's inception in 1963. In 1972, Jaguar introduced the XJ12, equipped with a 5.3 litre V12, which continued (after revisions in 1993) until the 1996 model year, after which the marque discontinued the twelve-cylinder engine. BMW returned to V12 designs for its 7 Series sedan in model year 1986, forcing
BMW V12 LM aerodynamics and safety. Debuting at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans test day in May, the two V12 LM chassis set times which were not favorable, their best lap placing them 11th behind factory entries from Porsche, Toyota, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz, all of which were running grand tourer-style cars instead of the theoretically faster Le Mans prototypes. By the time qualifying for the race came around in June, the BMWs had improved to 6th fastest in qualifying, placing behind two Porsches, two Mercedes, and a Toyota. Unfortunately, during the race both cars suffered quickly. Vibrations were detected in the