1955 Jaguar XK-D D-Type Roadster

Jaguar debuted the D-Type in 1954 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it finished 2nd overall. The following year, it won the race outright with a long-nose body. Although Jaguar temporarily retired from competition after the 1956 season, the D-Type continued to find success at the world's greatest venues in the hands of racing privateers, including victories at Le Mans in 1956 and 1957 for the Ecurie Ecosse. A total of 54 D-Type customer cars were built by Coventry from 1954 to 1957. An additional sixteen D-Types were converted into road-legal XKSS versions.

Chassis Number XKD 546
Construction of this Jaguar D-Type was completed in late 1955 with a short-nose body and a cream-painted exterior over a red interior. Original D-Type specifications included four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes, an independent suspension, a four-speed manual gearbox, and a dual overhead camshaft inline (XK6) six-cylinder engine (3,442cc in 1954, 3,781cc in 1957, and 2,997cc in 1958).

Provenance
- Guy Jackson of Chattanooga, Tennessee (December 1955 to June 1957)
- Cornelius Kenslo Thompson of Alabama (to mid-1960)
- John Lumkin of California (to around 1961)
- Mark Hurwitz of Los Angeles (to 1962)
- Tim Considine of California (to 1965)
- Robert Otten of Campbell, California (to 1973)
- Chris Drake of Hertfordshire, England (to May 1993)
- David Pennell of Britain (to 1999)
- Nicolas Cage of Bel Air, CA (to March 2002)
- Current Owner

In December 1955, this D-Type was dispatched to Jaguar Cars New York and sold new to Guy Jackson of Chattanooga, Tennessee. While in his care, it raced at last twice, with an unknown result at Courtland, Alabama, in July 1956 and two wins at Boca Raton, Florida, in March 1957 while being driven by Jack Ensley.

Cornelius Kenslo Thompson of Alabama purchased the D-Type in June 1957, and his family campaigned the car at local events such as the Courtland Sports Car Races in July 1957. At this event, his wife and son participated in two separate races before he took the wheel, driving to victory in a 25-lap contest. It raced at the Governor's Cup at Mansfield, Louisiana, near the close of August 1957, where it finished as high as 6th, and at the race at Gainesville, Georgia, in early October, the car finished 3rd. Another victory followed at the Collier Trophy race at Fort Pierce in November.

The Jaguar achieved three separate podium finishes during mid-1958, including 2nd place at the events at Chester, South Carolina; Gainesville, Georgia; and Hammond, Louisiana. During these outings, the car was involved in several minor collisions, with Mr. Thompson conducting repairs as needed, which apparently included replacing the damaged head-fairing with a smaller one.

John Lumkin of California purchased the Jaguar in mid-1960 and continued to expand its racing resume with a 13th place finish at Pomona in June 1960 and a 5th place finish at Del Mar three months later. Los Angeles resident Mark Hurwitz owned the car briefly before selling it through Alex Lucas in 1962 to Tim Considine of Hollywood, CA. Lucas had commissioned Bob Carroll to remove the head fairing and install a new windshield, similar to the road-going XKSS guise.

Mr. Considine had the exterior painted D-Type blue and was reportedly used in the shows My Three Sons and Perry Mason. When the original 3.4-liter engine suffered a valve failure, Mr. Considine chose to replace the motor with a 3.8-liter engine.

Robert Otten of Campbell, California, purchased the Jaguar in 1965 and kept it for eight years, selling it to Chris Drake of Hertfordshire, England. During this time, Lynx Engineering was commissioned to conduct some refurbishment. Upon completion, the D-Type was brought to Silverstone in 1982 and 1984, as well as the 1984 Historic Car Championship.

David Pennell of Britain purchased the Jaguar in May 1993, and he commissioned John and Gary Pearson to perform a full restoration, with particular attention to preserving the chassis sub-frames (which were deemed to be original). The rear clamp and top surface of the front bonnet were removed and replaced with new ones, and a new rear tailfin was installed. The restored coachwork was given a bare-metal refinish in British Racing Green.

After the restoration, the D-Type was driven to victory by Richard 'Dickie' Attwood and David Piper, who joined Gary Pearson to win the 1997 Nürburgring Historic endurance race.

The actor Nicolas Cage purchased the D-Type in 1999 and displayed it in the billiard room of his Bel Air home. Lynx Engineering was commissioned to conduct a freshening of the engine, and Jon Pollack was retained to install new exhaust headers.

Current Ownership
In March 2002, the Jaguar was sold through RM Auctions' Amelia Island sale to the current Tennessee-based owner. By this point in history, the car had a half-width plexiglass windscreen that covered the driver's side only. The passenger area had been covered with a racing tonneau.

Over the past 21 years, the non-original engine was replaced with a fresh motor built by Leo Goff's Memphis Motor Werks using a later 3.8-liter engine block (numbered LA 7568-9) and wide-angle cylinder head. New wheels have also been installed.

XKD 546 has resided in private storage for most of the past two decades and has been shown on rare occasions. It was campaigned by the owner at the Brian Redman International Challenge at Elkhart Lake in July 2003. In May 2009, it received an FIA Historic Technical Passport.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2024