Meet the New Jaguar XKSS
Before we say a word, watch, listen and feel the sensation of the new 1957 Jaguar XKSS:
The XKSS is the byproduct of the beautiful 1956 Jaguar D-type racer, and the brand’s decision at the time to withdraw from motorsport. Jaguar was left with unsold D-type bodies and the idea was hatched to build a road-going car based off the racer, still feather light and raw, but with some minor concessions to comfort and street use.
Jaguar planned 25 examples of the XKSS, however, a factory fire meant that 9 of those 25 XKSS’ went to the great junkyard in the sky. Jaguar Classics, an in-house classic car restoration and maintenance team, has been tasked with recreating those nine lost examples using a blend of original and modern technology, including drawings and papers from the period as well as 3D scans of a surviving XKSS. These recreations are period correct in form, function and material, right down to the magnesium alloy construction. New body panel bucks (jigs) have been made to hand form the bodies of the cars.
Beyond the body and chassis, the cars use the period correct 262 horsepower 3.4L Jaguar straight-six engine from the D-type with newly cast blocks, heads and topped with 3 Weber carbs.
Inside, the ‘new original’ XKSS features perfect recreations of the original Smiths gauges. Everything from the wood of the steering wheel, to the grain of the leather seats, through to the brass knobs on the XKSS dashboard, is precisely as it would have been in 1957.
The XKSS uses four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes and sits atop period-correct two-piece mag wheels and Dunlop tires.
Shall we breathe more life into the XKSS for you? Here’s Jay Leno and the Director of Jaguar-Land Rover Classics, Tim Hannig, in a Jay Leno’s Garage production to really talk about the nitty gritty behind JLR Classics and the New Jaguar XKSS.
