17 of the 75 race cars produced were racing cars, while the other 54 D-type road versions (XKSS models) were for customers. Four were later dismantled for parts, while two of the race cars were converted to XKSS models. The Jaguar D-Type may share components with its predecessor, the C-Type, but the new car was something of a revolution in design. Instead of a conventional tubular steel space frame, the D-Type introduced a magnesium alloy monocoque. But there was always a problem. Since these cars are technically new, but comply with the safety and emissions regulations of the fifties and sixties, they are not legal on the road. Instead, they are sold as pure racing cars or exclusively for use on the private property of their multimillionaire. As the D-Type also looked breathtaking, it helped increase recognition and admiration for the Jaguar brand around the world. Its well-proportioned curves have survived, inspiring the road-legal XKSS flipperless versions and the hugely popular E-Type. Today, he is considered Britain`s most popular and successful racing driver.
With its new engine, the car was unstoppable and totally dominated the event. The Jaguar D-Type finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1956, the small private team Ecurie Ecosse and its D-Type won the main prize. Jaguar retired from motorsport at the end of the 1956 season, leaving them available with a number of D-Types and nowhere to drive them. The decision was made to convert many of them to Jaguar XKSS specifications – they essentially went from Le Mans-winning race cars to road-legal sports cars, they proved popular and the most famous owner of XKSS was American actor Steve McQueen. To choose the most important Jaguar model of all time, you have to choose between a handle: the C-Type, the D-Type, the XKSS and the E-Type Lightweight. Of all, the D-Type is the brand`s most historic competition car and the one that dominated the second half of the motorsport scene of the 1950s. MM Garage offers one of the few Jaguar Works D racing types ever produced – a car whose history is underpinned by extensive provenance and documentation. The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 had what it took to become the greatness of motorsport. Stirling Moss had joined Fangio in the Mercedes team, Ferrari looked strong and Jaguar had bought Mike Hawthorn. Hawthorn had already proven that he was a Grand Prix world champion, so he and the D-Type were a perfect match.
The 1954 Jaguar D-Type race car is sold by MM Garage. Photo by Pawel Litwinski, courtesy of MM Garage. Almost all D-type and XKSS versions of 1956 (54 in total) are all D-type “short noses”; They were powered by a 3.8-liter fuel-injected inline-six engine. In March 2016, Jaguar announced that it would complete the initial order for 25 XKSS by hand-building the remaining nine XKSS roadsters to exact original specifications and assigning them the chassis numbers of the destroyed cars. The “suite” reproductions were to sell for more than £1 million each. In general, Jaguar`s D-Type continued to dominate, and despite the company`s withdrawal from racing at the end of the 1956 season, the following year was even more successful for the model. Now powered by a larger 3.8-litre engine, the D-Type took five of the top six places at Le Mans in 1957, driven by independent teams. Although it did not compete in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, OKV 2 was used at Silverstone by Jaguar Team Principal Lofty England to introduce potential Jaguar team drivers Mike Hawthorn, Ninian Sanderson, Jimmy Stewart, Desmond Titterington and Don Beauman to the model.
The car was then sold to Jack Broadhead and driven by Bob Berry at the Pentecost meeting in May at Goodwood, where it finished behind Duncan Hamilton, who was driving OKV 1. Estimates of the value of a D-Type vary, but the first factory car to be auctioned for £2.2 million in 2008. In 2016, the 1956 car that won Le Mans was sold at auction and sold for over £16.8m. It is currently the most expensive British car ever sold at auction. The multi-million pound creations will be available in short or long form, using the factory`s original technical drawings to exactly replicate Le Mans` winning specification. Officially, the cars are not roadworthy and are only intended for use on private roads and race tracks. The Jaguar D-Type is one of the most iconic cars in motorsport history. This innovative sports car is designed to compete with Ferrari and win the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first technical prototype, a 1956 Longnose with a signature fin behind the driver`s head, makes its debut today (7 February) at the Rétromobile Show in Paris, 62 years after the last D-Type left Jaguar factories. Miles Morris of MM Garage is very fond of this Jaguar: “The D-Type is simply one of the greatest sports racing cars of all time.
He won many world races in the mid-1950s, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans three years in a row. Technically, it was very innovative, with its monocoque chassis design, beautiful aerodynamic body and highly effective Dunlop disc brakes. Fortunately, R-Reforged found a solution. The Anglo-Swiss company now offers an “Individual Vehicle Approval Compliance (IVA)” service, which makes all the necessary changes to make these continuation vehicles legal on the road in the UK. R-Reforged says the service will be offered for “all suites, limited production and unique parts, as well as electrified classic cars and performance cars.” Developed from the C-Type, the D-Type was powered by Jag`s inline-six engine, which operated in one form or another in the 1970s and is certainly one of the largest engines ever designed. The D-Type – which looked almost as much like an airplane as it did an automobile – used a new monocoque construction that made it light and strong. The aerodynamic design of Malcolm Sayer, a former aeronautical engineer who worked for Jaguar in 1950, had an asymmetrically positioned vertical fin, and the overall shape was a precursor to Jaguar`s 1961 E-Type, another brilliant design by Sayer. The Jaguar`s 3.4-litre engine produced around 250 hp and, with its impressive speed, worried the Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari teams. The RCR D-Type is available with three rear treatments: the single version, one with rounded headrest (as used at Sebring) and the other with the iconic wing behind the driver (originally equipped for greater stability at high speed at Le Mans – just like the recent P1 prototypes!). MM Garage`s D-Type, designated OKV 2, was the second of three works cars used by Jaguar at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It bore the starting number 12 and was described as the leading Jaguar, driven by Stirling Moss and Peter Walker. The practice set a new speed record of 172.97 mph as it descended the Mulsanne straight by 2.5 miles, an incredible speed for the time. The car was nearly 13 miles per hour faster than its Italian competitor, the 4.9-liter Ferrari with V12 engine, which reached 160.1 miles per hour, although the Jag had 1.5 liters less displacement. With the heat and the lead of the race, OKV 2 had to retire after midnight due to brake damage. Two months later, at the 12 Hours of Reims driven by Moss and Walker, OKV 2 failed again. However, when competing in the Tourist Trophy in September 1954, the car finished fifth, this time driven by Peter Whitehead and Ken Wharton. Jaguar has announced the planned production of 25 D-Type “suites” that will be hand-built at its workshop in Warwickshire, UK, to meet Jaguar`s original target of producing 100 D-Type based cars (the last twenty-five of which were to be converted to road-legal XKSS versions). Available options include the 1955 short muzzle or the 1956 long-nosed body.
[1] Model: 1954 Jaguar D-type Works RacerEngine: 3.4 liters, in-line six-cylinder Power: 250 hp Torque: 242 lb-ft Transmission: Four-speed manual transmission: 90.0 inches Currently, there is only one “new” Jaguar D-Type model, a Longnose technical prototype with extended hood, rear spoiler behind the driver`s head, wide-angle cylinder head and quick-change brake calipers. The great attention to detail is reflected in the fact that the construction of a Type D requires about 7,000 hours of work. Jag did not officially drive a factory-backed team at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, but supported several others who drove a D-Type. At that time, it was customary to continue the race. Hawthorn`s D-Type continued to win. Displacement started at 3.4 liters, was increased to 3.8 liters in 1957 and reduced to 3.0 liters in 1958, when Le Mans rules limited sports racing car engines to that maximum. The D-Type won Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1957.