Jaguar Classic has re-started production, after a 62-year break, of the D-type race car in Coventry, UK.
Paris’s Salon Retomobile show, which kicked off this week, will be the place for fans to see the world debut of the first Jaguar D-type, which is an engineering prototype, assembled by Jaguar Classic.
Only 25 examples of the iconic D-type will be built by hand at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Warwickshire. This fulfils the initial plan from 1955 for 100 D-types of which only 75 were completed. All 25 new D-types will be period-correct sports cars.
Under the hood of the D-type will be the true-to-original six-cylinder XK engine which happened to be the same engine that powered the 1955 to 1957 back-to-back-to-back victories at the Le Mans 24 hour race.
Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director, said, “The Jaguar D-type is one of the most iconic and beautiful competition cars of all time, with an outstanding record in the world’s toughest motor races. And it’s just as spectacular today.
“The opportunity to continue the D-type’s success story, by completing its planned production run in Coventry, is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that our world-class experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic are proud to fulfil.”
This is not the first continuation vehicle from Jaguar Classic. The D-type will join the six missing Lightweight E-types completed in 2015 and the nine XKSSs built in 2017-18.
Kev Riches, Jaguar Classic Engineering Manager, said, “Recreating the nine D-type-derived XKSSs was hugely satisfying, and an even bigger technical challenge than the six missing Lightweight E-types, but lessons learned from the XKSS project have given us a head start on the final 25 D-types. Each one will be absolutely correct, down to the very last detail, just as Jaguar’s Competitions Department intended.”
Extensive research has gone into getting the new D-type right with the archives scoured for original Jaguar engineering drawings and records to ensure a truly authentic re-creation as first imagined by competitions manager Lofty England and his engineers in the fifties.
Two bodywork options are available for the new D-type, one being the 1955-specification Shortnose whilst the other is a 1956-specification Longnose. The engineering prototype is the 1956 Longnose specification which is distinguishable by its extended bonnet, characteristic tail fin behind the driver’s head, wide-angle cylinder head and quick-change brake callipers.
A look at the new Jaguar D-type longnose is available at https://youtu.be/4fu-1kH6jJM
More: All News
