Jaguar Classic D-Type makes its debut at Rétromobile 2018 in Paris
Continuation models continue to pour out of Jag Classic's UK workshop, forcing us to further curse our relative poverty.
Take a look in the mirror. You're a person of means and taste. You have a collection of string-back driving gloves and racing watches. You enjoy the taste of the finest single malt and are on a personal mission to make James Bond look like a farmer. What car do you buy if you have a budget between $1 million and $4 million and refuse to be associated with that peasant, Steve McQueen?
It turns out that Jaguar Classic now has a solution that is tailor-made to suit your oddly specific requirements, because it is resurrecting the D-Type race car that dominated Le Mans in the 1950s. Much like it did with the E-Type Lightweight and the XKSS continuation models, Jaguar will be building 25 of these new-production D-Types meticulously by hand in its Warwickshire, UK workshop to complete its original desired production run of 100 cars.
What does your currently unspecified (and yet likely considerable) investment in a modern classic D-Type Jaguar get you? Well, a lot, actually. You'll get the famed Jaguar straight-six engine with the storied wide-angle cylinder head, reproduced in exacting detail by Jaguar Classic to race engineer Lofty England's original specifications. You get four-wheel disc brakes and dry sump lubrication, too. Lastly, Jag will be offering buyers a choice between 1955 short-nose bodywork or 1956 long-nose bodywork. We'd go for the '56 long-nose in Ecurie Ecosse livery, just FYI.
Jaguar made no mention of cost, but we expect it to be in the million-dollar-plus range based on the division's previous offerings. Road legality is also likely to be non-existent, so you'll have to use your considerable wealth to cheat a little to get plates on your minty-fresh racing car. All of us at Roadshow are salivating over pictures and video of the D-Type, and we can't wait to get a certain tall, soft-spoken, British Wolverine look-alike in the right-hand seat of one.
