Red-blooded racer
Introduced in April 1954, the D-Type was successful in competition almost immediately, with victory at the 1954 Sebring 12 Hours and strong second-place finish at 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Jaguar works team achieved a first at Circuit de la Sarthe in 1955 with Ecurie Ecosse notching up a privateer win there the following year. During this period motor racing technology had begun to evolve quickly, and faced with slowing sales, Jaguar decided to use the remaining D-Type chassis it had on hand to build the very similar (though finless) XKSS road car.
D-Type and XKSS production suffered a crippling blow on 12 February 1957, when a fire tore through Jaguar’s Coventry works. Five D-Types were destroyed in the blaze, as well as important tooling and materials. Final D-Type production numbers tallied 17 works race cars, plus 54 ‘short-nose’ D-Types intended for customers; of that latter group, five were lost in the fire and four were dismantled for parts. A further two of these production D-Types were later converted to XKSS models.
Yet despite the Coventry catastrophe, the D-Type’s story was far from over. Notably, five privateer D-Types were entered in the 1957 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They ultimately took the top four places, in addition to sixth place, with the Ecurie Ecosse D-Types famously reprising their 1956 first-place finish and achieving second place to boot. The sleek Jaguar’s place in motorsport history had been secured.
The D-Type featured here was delivered new to Henlys of Manchester in December 1955 and it’s appearance immediately distinguished it from the already rarified D-Type set. Painted Red with an interior trimmed to match, it was one of a very small number of D-Types to be so finished when new.
Underneath the car’s aerodynamically sculpted bonnet sits the 3.4-litre dry-sump XK engine. Fed by triple Weber carburetors, breathing through passenger-side-mounted exhaust, and mated to four-speed transmission, this combination was rated at 245 horsepower when new.
The car was raced earlier on in its life and has been owned by many high profile people over the years, including Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Bloxham and Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant. This glorious 1955 Jaguar D-Type is available at RM Sotheby’s upcoming Arizona auction held on 22nd January 2021. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos: © Patrick Ernzen © RM Sothebys.