Fifty nine years on, Jaguar has announced that it will build the nine ‘lost’ XKSS sports cars to complete the series run for the road-going version of the D-Type racer.
Following the automaker’s three successive Le Mans victories in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with the D-Type, founder Sir Williams Lyons took the decision in January 1957 to convert the remaining 25 D-Types into road-going versions, with several external modifications. Sixteen of these were built, but the remaining nine weren’t, lost in the fire that broke out in the Browns Lane factory in February 1957.
The nine new XKSS’s will effectively replace the cars lost in that mishap – they will be hand built by Jaguar Classic at its new Experimental Shop in Warwick, to the exact specification as the 1957 models. Pricing is expected to be in excess of £1 million (RM5.67 million), with first deliveries expected to commence early next year.
It’s not the first continuation project undertaken by the company. In 2014, it announced plans to produce the remaining six cars of the Lightweight E-Type from 1963, of which only 12 out of the planned 18 units of the race-bred GT were completed. Jaguar says the expertise gained during the construction of the Lightweight E-Type project will be transferred to the construction of the nine XKSS models.
External modifications to bring the D-Type to road legal statusfrom the D-Type included the addition of a new higher windscreen, an extra door on the passenger side, taking away the divider between driver and passenger as well as the removal of the famous fin behind the driver’s seat.
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I dont mind the alterations but the fin!It is the defining design of this car.
one of this car used to be in Ipoh, falim. in late 60s and had a dismantled engine for sale for 2k