Jaguar D-Type 1957 Le Mans

Designed specifically to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the exemplary Jaguar D-type was extremely successful in its mission, becoming one of the most dominant Le Mans cars in history. Victorious in three of the four years it competed, the D-type inspired the legendary E-type road car and eventually became the road-going XKSS.

Produced between 1954 and 1956, the D-type shared the same basic straight 6 XK engine and many mechanic components as its elder sister, the C-type, but was structurally entirely different. The aviation industry inspired monocoque construction and aerodynamic efficiency was a marked departure from the C-type’s space frame chassis and softer body design and was considered revolutionary at the time.

In its debut season in 1954, the D-type, driven by Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt fell short of winning Le Mans to Ferrari by just a single lap. The following year, Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb took the chequered flag, giving the D-type its maiden Le Mans title. The event, however, was marred by the deadliest accident in the history of motorsport that not only prompted their closest competitors Mercedes-Benz to retire from the race, but caused them to leave motorsport altogether for at least two decades. In 1956 Jaguar claimed another victory, as the small Edinburgh-based Ecurie Ecosse team saw their D-type, driven by Ninian Sanderson and Ron Flockhart, pip the pursuing Aston Martin, piloted by Stirling Moss and Peter Collins, to the chequered flag by a single lap. Jaguar pulled out of motorsport as a works team at the end of the season, but privateer teams still represented the D-type and Ecurie Ecosse won again in 1957, sealing a D-type hattrick, raced by previous winners Flockhart and Bueb. They were convincingly victorious, finishing eight laps ahead of their sister car driven by Sanderson and John ‘Jock’ Lawrence. D-types dominated the leaderboard that year, suffering no retirements and taking five of the top six places, cementing its place in Le Mans history as one of the most successful cars.

This model is a perfect 1:8 scale recreation of the 1957 Le Mans winning D-type, as raced to victory by British duo Ron Flockhart and Ivor Bueb. It has been handcrafted and finished in our workshops with the co-operation and assistance of Jaguar regarding original finishes, materials, archive imagery and drawings. The use of supremely accurate digital scanning of the original car has allowed us to perfectly recreate every detail at scale. Furthermore, it has undergone detailed scrutiny by both engineering and design teams to ensure complete accuracy of representation.

The Jaguar XKD Le Mans is limited to only 99 pieces.

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