Rare Jaguar vintage supercar XKSS in production again

What the flames snatched unceremoniously, Jaguar will rebuild lovingly. About six decades later though.

The British carmaker will once again make the XKSS, a street-legal version of the Le Mans-winning D-type race car. Nine units will be hand-built by Jaguar Classic to the exact same specifications as those made in 1957, replacing the cars lost due to the Browns Lane factory fire. Each will have the same 3.4-litre straight-six engine and a four-speed manual gearbox, with the engine to be made from the original specification cast iron material.

“Jaguar Classic’s highly skilled team of engineers and technicians will draw on decades of knowledge to ensure each of the nine cars is completely authentic and crafted to the highest quality,” said Tim Hannig, the director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

The original cars were supposed to be exported to the US. But only 16 were completed before disaster struck.

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Now 59 years later, Jaguar is building the nine “lost” XKSS sports cars, with the expertise gained during the construction of the Lightweight E-type project to be transferred to the construction of the nine ultra-exclusive continuations. Last year’s Lightweight E-type was the first car rebuild undertaken by Jaguar Classic, 50 years after the last one was produced.

Like the E-Type, each XKSS will be hand-built, with the price in excess of £1 million (S$1.95 million). Those in the market for a brand new classic will want to contact Wearnes Automotive on 6378-2626.

Adapted from The Business Times.