Jaguar XKSS 1957

The Jaguar D Type was a successful racing car in the fifties, winning, for instance, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Compared o the C Type, which won Le Mans in 1951 and 1953, it was shorter, lighter, and more powerful, with 250 hp. The integral construction body had more rounded lines than the C Type, with the option of a stabilising fin behind the cokcpit. When the Company withdrew from official competition there were several D Type remaining at the factory. Jaguar decided to convert them into road going cars and here comes the XKSS in 1957. The road going version of the D Type was similar to the road racing car, but with hood, windscreen, and side-screens. It had a maximum speed of 144 mph (232 kph). Only 16 were made before the disastrous fire in February 1957 which destroyed nearly one-third of the factory. After rebuilding, it was decided not to continue with the XKSS which was inevitably a very small seller, but to begin work on a completely new volume production sports car. This emergerged in 1961as the E Type.