The Jaguar XKSS is a road-going version of the Jaguar D-Type racing car, initially built in 1957. Only 16 were built and sold at the time.[1] Nine chassis were destroyed in a factory fire in 1957 before they could be completed. In 2016 Jaguar announced that a small production run of nine "continuation" XKSS reproductions would be hand-built to the original specifications to complete the originally scheduled run of 25.[2]
History
Following Jaguar's withdrawal from competition at the end of the 1956 season, a number of D-types remained unsold at the Browns Lane factory. In an attempt to recoup some of the investment made in building unused chassis, and to exploit the lucrative American market for high-performance European sports cars, Sir William Lyons decided to convert a number of them to road-going specification. Structural changes would include the removal of the bulkhead creating a single driver's cockpit, elimination of the large fin behind the driver, and addition of a passenger side door. In addition, numerous changes were required to be made for cosmetic, comfort and legal reasons to turn a basic D-type, a race car design, into a street-legal passenger car.