1955 Jaguar XK-D D-Type Roadster

In 1955, the Jaguar D-Type took the first of three straight wins at Le Mans. Those, coupled with the C-Type's wins in 1951 and 1953, gave Jaguar five wins during the decade of the 1950s.

This Jaguar D-Type is one of the 54 examples produced for privateer customers. This example was dispatched from the factory on February 1eth of 1956 finished in British Racing Green. XKD530 was initially procured by Curt Lincoln of Helsinki, Finland, from the Finnish Importer S.M.K. in 1956. Mr. Lincoln wanted to avoid excessive duty on the import. Therefore he instructed Coventry to make the car appear used, so that it would not be subject to new vehicle tariffs. To this end, the factory brushed the pedals to make them appear worn, replaced the steering wheel with a used one, and adjusted the odometer to misleadingly reflect accrued mileage, among other measures.

Lincoln obtained the car for ice racing at Elaintarhanajo. It was fitted with special tires, carrying 60 spikes in each. Lincoln was successful in winning his first race in the over two liter class and competed nearly every Sunday. Mr. Lincoln also campaigned the D-Type at the Elaintarhanajo, Finland's best-known race of the period, which was run annually between 1932 and 1963 on a two-kilometer track at the heart of Helsinki. With the final drive ratio increased to 3.54:1, XKD 530 was driven by Mr. Lincoln under the banner of his Scuderia Askolin to a 1st in class finish on May 10, 1956.

In the late 1950s, Mr. Lincoln contacted the factory with interest in modifying the car to GT class specifications by converting it into an XK-SS road car. Ultimately, race modifications were made domestically. Coachbuilders Wiima, of Helsinki, were retained to install a full-width windscreen, a new nearside door, and a custom tail fin. The year 1958 saw continued competitive outings, with numerous 1st and 2nd place finishes.

By 1959, XKD530 was in 'tired' condition and it was returned to Jaguar in Coventry, England, to be rebuilt. It was converted to the new 3.8 liter. The car went on to win the Leningrand Grand Prix, the only outing ever recorded for a D-Type in the Soviet Union.

In late 1960, Mr. Lincoln sold the car to magazine publisher Olli Lyytikainen, who continued to race the car, usually with rally driver Timo Makinen at the wheel. In August 27, 1961, Heimo Hietarinta finished 1st in the Formula Libre Class at the Leningrad Grand Prix.

In November of 1966 the car was sold to English collector Nigel Moores. When Mr. Moores took ownership of the car, it was in poor condition, having endured a life of extensive racing. The body had been modified to an open two-seater cockpit with a truncated tail. As rebuilding the original body was deemed to be too prohibitively expensive for a car of such value at that time, it was decided that the later D-Type construction manner, which involved separately bolting a front and rear chassis sub-frame to the monocoque body, afforded the opportunity to remove the damaged body and salvage as many original chassis components as possible.

The car was given an all-new body in the factory long-nose style. It was given a wide-angle headed D-Type engine that had original been used by the Cunningham team. The separated monocoque body, the original engine, and the gearbox were put aside and eventually sold, around 1984 to John Harper, who repaired the coachwork and mounted it on an all-new chassis that consisted of various jaguar factory components.

Both resulting cars have been stamped with XKD 530.

The current owner purchased the car in 1998. He purchased the other XKD 530 in June of 2002. He sent it to CKL Developments in Sussex, England, for restoration. Both cars were disassembled, carefully noting the individual part numbers. The original parts that were used to assemble XKD 530 were identified and the replacement parts were also carefully identified. In the end, the car carries its original engine, transmission, chassis frame, monocoque, rear axle and brake calipers among other pieces. The restoration was completed in mid-2003, which reunited XKD 530's separated components for the first time in 35 years.

Among other events, the car has competed in seven Mille Miglias between 2000 and 2009. It was 'sympathetically' restored in 2008-09.

It's hard to conceive of a more iconic sportscar of 1950s Le Mans than the D-Type Jaguar. From the tragic 1955 race to a run of dominance that would continue throughout the end of the decade, there was no denying the greatness of the creation from the small Coventry factory.

This particular chassis, XKD 530, unlike its other D-Type brethren, has a rather unique racing history. Finished in British Racing Green and completed in February of 1956, this D-Type would head to Finland where it would be delivered to Curt Lincoln of Helsinki. Lincoln was well known as part of Finland's Davis Cup tennis team, but he was also a rather talented motor racer driving F3 midget cars and even a C-Type Jaguar.

Interestingly, Lincoln didn't want to pay the hefty import taxes on a new car, and therefore, made it clear to the Jaguar factory to take steps to make it appear used. The factory would comply brushing the pedals to make them look worn, the odometer would be altered to reflect mileage that had been apparently accumulated and the factory would go so far as replacing the new steering wheel with a used one.

But if this new, but used, D-Type wasn't intriguing enough, Lincoln would use the car primarily in ice racing. Fitted with spiked tires, Lincoln would race to victory on more than one occasion. Prior to this, the car had taken part in some of the better-known motor races of the period, including events at Elaintarhanajo. Class victories under the banner of Scuderia Askolin were not uncommon and just another testament to the D-Type's aura.

Up through 1958, XKD 530 continued to score numerous first and second place results, but all of the racing was beginning to exact a toll on the car. As a result, the car would return to Coventry and would undergo overhaul. The original engine would be replaced with a 3.8-liter example, the Weber carburetors would be replaced with larger 45-millimeter models and the gearbox would be totally rebuilt. When all said and done, the overhaul would apparently come with a performance boost of some 100hp. Lincoln would put this to good use scoring a few more victories into 1960.

In 1960, the D-Type would be sold to Olli Lyytikainen. Mr. Lyytikainen would continue to race the car throughout late 1960 and 1961, often with future rally driver Timo Makinen at the wheel. In 1961, with Heimo Hietarinta behind the wheel, the car scored a victory in the Formula Libre class at a race in Leningrad. This would be monumental as it is believed XKD 530 remains the only D-Type to have ever raced in the Soviet Union. The appearance would draw such interest the car would be featured in the Finnish magazine Tekniikan Maailma.

Collector Nigel Moores would purchase the car in 1966 and it was clear the Jaguar had been through some abuse. However, its interesting history made it nearly impossible to rebuild the original body without it costing an astronomical amount of money. At the time, the car had already been modified to an open two-seater cockpit complete with a shortened tail. It would be decided that by separately bolting a front and rear sub-frame to the monocoque body would enable Moores to save as much of the original components as possible.

While this was done, the engine would be removed, along with the original gearbox. These would be eventually sold and used in another effort. With the chassis separated and fitted with new bodywork there would end up being two D-Types stamped 'XKD 530'. This would result in some serious debate years later as to which was actually the original.

This would be solved when, in 1998, one of the cars would be acquired. Then, in 2002, the other would be acquired by the same collector. Detailed in Paul Skilleter's and Jim Patten's article for Jaguar World Monthly work would be undertaken to disassemble both cars. Once apart, a D-Type expert would be consulted to identify the original parts of XKD 530. Once identified, the original parts would be reassembled as one car and the true XKD 530 would emerge in 2003.

After more than three decades, XKD 530 would be whole and would turn its first laps at what would have been a familiar circuit of its day had it remained in England—Goodwood. Following those initial laps the car would go on to take part in the Mille Miglia Storica some four times and would also be a welcome sight at some of the best concours events, such as Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este and Amelia Island.

The D-Type has even returned to racing taking part in the 2011 Silverstone Classic Stirling Moss Trophy race and the Revival Sussex Trophy race at Goodwood.

A truly captivating biography, legendary D-Type lineage and the success one would expect, XKD 530 is, by far, one of the most outstanding examples of the brand. Though not a famous Le Mans winner, it is nigh on impossible to overlook the unique narrative of this Jaguar.

Offered through RM Auction's 2015 Amelia Island auction, the 1955 D-Type Jaguar was certainly one of the cars to watch earning pre-auction estimates ranging from between $3,750,000 and $4,250,000.

By Jeremy McMullen