1955 Jaguar XK-D D-Type
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The Jaguar D-Type is legendary among sports racers of the 1950s. These beautiful aerodynamic roadsters won the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1955, 1956, and 1957. This example, chassis #XD-515, is completely intact having seen little racing action over the years. It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2006. Jaguar was founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company by Sir William Lyons. In 1935 Jaguar began building SS sedan cars but after WWII, the 'SS' had such a negative connotation that it was dropped. Today, the iconic British brand has a long and storied heritage of road racing victories on both sides of the Atlantic. After WWII the company soon found fame with stylish sports cars, starting with the XK-120 roadster in 1949, followed immediately by the competition version designated the C-Type. While both were powered by Jaguar's legendary twin-cam straight-six engine, the C-Type was given a higher state of tune. The C-Type featured an aluminum body and a more aerodynamic body shape. The D-Type was the successor to the C-Type which had won LeMans overall for 1951 and 1953 and as such they continued their dominance, winning LeMans overall for 1955, 1956 and 1957. The D-Type differed by having a stressed skin aluminum monocoque central section with welded front and rear tubular subframe sections for light weight. The D-Type is most recognized for the rear fin that adds cross car stability, and the car uses a 3.4 liter dual overhead cam straight six-cylinder dry sump engine producing approximately 250 horsepower coupled to a 4-speed manual transmission. By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2012 |
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