The Jaguar XKSS was a road-going version of the Jaguar D-Type racing car. Following Jaguar's withdrawal from competition at the end of the 1955 season, a number of completed and partially complete D-types remained unsold at the Browns Lane factory. In an attempt to recoup some of the investment made in building these unused chassis, and to exploit the fruitful American market for high-performance European sports cars, Sir William Lyons decided to convert a number to full road-going specification. Only minor changes were made to the basic D-type design: the addition of a passenger side door, the removal of the large fin behind the driver's seat, and the removal of the divider between passenger and driver seats. In addition, changes were made for cosmetic, comfort and legal reasons: a full-width, chrome-surrounded windscreen was added; side screens were added to both driver and passenger doors; a primitive, folding, fabric roof was added for weather protection; chromed bumpers were added front and rear (a styling cue later used on the E-type); XK140 rear light clusters mounted higher on the wings; and thin chrome strips added to the edge of the front light fairings. On the evening of 12 February 1957, a fire broke out at the Browns Lane plant destroying nine of the twenty-five cars that had already been completed or were semi-completed. Most of the surviving 16 XKSS were sold in the USA. After the Jaguar F-Type Project Seven, Range Rover Sport SVR, and run of six continuation Lightweight E-Types, the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations (SVO) division is hatching its next historic resurrection, and there's a chance it could be the Jaguar XKSS. Edwards said that SVO projects need to have some kind of story behind them, a qualification the XKSS doesn't lack. In the 1950s Jaguar raced the D-Type to three Le Mans wins among its list of victories, but retired as a factory team at the end of 1955. When Jaguar decided to turn 25 unused D-Type chassis' into road-going cars, the XKSS was created.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Jaguar XKSS
The Jaguar XKSS was a road-going version of the Jaguar D-Type racing car. Following Jaguar's withdrawal from competition at the end of the 1955 season, a number of completed and partially complete D-types remained unsold at the Browns Lane factory. In an attempt to recoup some of the investment made in building these unused chassis, and to exploit the fruitful American market for high-performance European sports cars, Sir William Lyons decided to convert a number to full road-going specification. Only minor changes were made to the basic D-type design: the addition of a passenger side door, the removal of the large fin behind the driver's seat, and the removal of the divider between passenger and driver seats. In addition, changes were made for cosmetic, comfort and legal reasons: a full-width, chrome-surrounded windscreen was added; side screens were added to both driver and passenger doors; a primitive, folding, fabric roof was added for weather protection; chromed bumpers were added front and rear (a styling cue later used on the E-type); XK140 rear light clusters mounted higher on the wings; and thin chrome strips added to the edge of the front light fairings. On the evening of 12 February 1957, a fire broke out at the Browns Lane plant destroying nine of the twenty-five cars that had already been completed or were semi-completed. Most of the surviving 16 XKSS were sold in the USA. After the Jaguar F-Type Project Seven, Range Rover Sport SVR, and run of six continuation Lightweight E-Types, the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations (SVO) division is hatching its next historic resurrection, and there's a chance it could be the Jaguar XKSS. Edwards said that SVO projects need to have some kind of story behind them, a qualification the XKSS doesn't lack. In the 1950s Jaguar raced the D-Type to three Le Mans wins among its list of victories, but retired as a factory team at the end of 1955. When Jaguar decided to turn 25 unused D-Type chassis' into road-going cars, the XKSS was created.
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