Faithfully Recreating Jaguar's Most Beautiful Racing Car

The Jaguar D-Type, a pure racing car, debuted in 1954 as the successor to the "C-Type," which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951 and 1953. It features a 3.4-liter inline-six XK engine mounted at the front, a sleek all-aluminum body shaped by wind tunnel testing, and a vertical tail fin mounted behind the driver's seat to ensure straight-line stability at Le Mans.

It boasts a glorious racing history with three consecutive victories at Le Mans from 1955 to 1957. Jaguar had planned to build 100 D-Types in 1955, but only 75 were completed at the time. This new plan aims to achieve the original goal by newly manufacturing the remaining 25 units.

Jaguar Classic's experts are utilizing original D-Type blueprints and records preserved by Jaguar. They will meticulously recreate the genuine specifications established by Lofty England, who served as Jaguar's racing manager in the 1950s, and his team of engineers. Customers can choose between the short-nose specification from 1955 and the long-nose specification from 1956, which featured an extended front overhang.

Jaguar last manufactured the D-Type in 1956. The first unit completed after 62 years, an engineering prototype, is a long-nose model featuring its distinctive appearance, wide-angle cylinder heads, and quick-change brake calipers. The actual car was unveiled at the historic car event "Salon Rétromobile 2018," held in Paris from February 7.

Jaguar Classic previously completed six "E-Type Lightweight" models between 2014 and 2015, and manufactured nine "XKSS" models from 2017 to 2018. This D-Type marks the third revival model following those projects.

Kevin Rich, Engineering Manager, stated, "The construction of the nine XKSS cars based on the D-Type was a highly rewarding project and technically more challenging than the six E-Type Lightweights. Thanks to the learnings and lessons from that experience, the remanufacturing of the 25 D-Types has proceeded smoothly. Each one will be reproduced with absolute accuracy in every detail, exactly as intended by the racing department at the time."

Tim Hanning, Director, added, "The D-Type is one of the most iconic and beautiful racing cars in Jaguar's history, with a brilliant record in the world's toughest motorsport. This project to resume D-Type production in Coventry and complete the planned manufacturing run is a precious opportunity, and our exceptional experts are proud to be involved."

The classic models manufactured by Jaguar Classic are sold for private road and track use only. The price of the D-Type has not been disclosed.