Posle više od šest decenija od kada su prva vozila izašla sa proizvodne linije, stručni tim majstora i inženjera će ručno napraviti 25 potpuno novih šestocilindričnih Continuation D-type vozila sa pogonom kao na modelu XK. Ikonični Le-Man-ov D-type postaje treće vozilo koje će izaći iz Jaguar Classic radionica, nakon modela E-typa i XKSS.
Trostruki pobednik trke Le Mans Legend vraća se na velika vrata.
Jaguar je najavio planove za izgradnju devet novih XKSS-ova.
Samo 16 komada je prvobitno završeno za izvoz u SAD, pre nego što je preostalih devet uništeno u požaru čuvene fabrike Brovns Lane 12-og februara 1957.
59 godina kasnije, Jaguar Classic će precizno izraditi devet potpuno novih KSKSS-ova po tačnim specifikacijama iz 1957. godine i staviti ih isključivo na raspolaganje izabranoj grupi kolekcionara i kupaca.
Inspirisan projektom Lightweight E-type, svaki novi nastavak XKSS-a biće mukotrpno izrađen ručno u Jaguar-ovom novom objektu u Warwicku.
Priča o xKSS-u počela je nakon šro je model D-type izvojevoa tri uzastopne pobede na trci Le Man-a 1955., 1956. i 1957. Nakon ovog, „gospodin Jaguar, 'Ser Villiams Lions imao je vrhunsku viziju kako da pretvori preostalih 25 trkačih D-typa vozila u verzije za drumske puteve - stvarajući tako prvi svetski supestar.
Tim Hannig, direktor Jaguar Land Rover Classic-a, rekao je: "xKSS zauzima jedinstveno mesto u istoriji Jaguara i automobil je koji su kolekcionari širom sveta želeli zbog svoje ekskluzivnosti i nepogrešivog dizajna..
"Vrlo vešt tim inženjera i tehničara Jaguar Classic-a će se oslanjati na znanje građeno decenijama kako bi svaki od devet automobila bio potpuno autentičan i stvoren na najkvalitetniji način.”
Prvi od modela nastavaka Jaguar XKSS-a biće isporučeni u 2017-oju godini
Half a century after they were first built, Jaguar Classic brings the Lightweight E‑type into the 21st century.
Six brand-new Jaguar Lightweight E‑types are being meticulously built by specialist engineers, highlighting the capability and expert engineering skill set of the new Jaguar Classic Workshop.
These coveted next generation ‘Special GT’ E‑type cars were originally built in 1963 with new aluminium bodies to improve performance. But only 12 of the projected 18 were ever made. The six brand-new Lightweight E‑types that now complete their number, fifty years later, will carry the original series chassis numbers of the ‘missing’ vehicles.
The prototype of these new Lightweight E‑types has already been made and undergone a 15-day shake-down period at Jaguar Land Rover's test facility at Gaydon to prove out the car's dynamics and establish optimum suspension settings.
To create the new E‑types, every single panel and part had to be minutely scanned and recreated before being assembled at the Browns Lane plant, just yards from where the originals were built.
The core component of the Lightweight E‑type is its aluminium bodyshell. This material replaced the steel of the production E‑type in the quest to shed weight – some 114kg (205 lb) were saved compared with the standard car.
Despite the 50‑year gap, the aluminium build of the six new Lightweights gives them an immediate affinity with the current Jaguar range, the XE, XJ and F‑TYPE models being built to exacting standards with aluminium bodies for exactly the same reason. In fact, Jaguar is now the world's leading manufacturer of aluminium-bodied cars and the company has unrivalled experience in the relatively new field of applying aluminium technology to volume production cars.
The Lightweight E‑type was powered by a highly developed version of Jaguar's straight-six XK engine which, with its chain-driven twin overhead camshafts and aluminium head with hemispherical combustion chambers, remained highly advanced in 1963 even though it had first been seen in the XK 120 as far back as 1948. It was this engine that had powered the C- and D‑types to five Le Mans victories in the 1950s. A race winner in its own right during its short competitive career, the Lightweight E‑type has achieved worldwide fame and is highly coveted.
The six new Lightweight E‑types are competition vehicles with FIA homologation for historic motorsport purposes.
In recreating the Lightweight E‑type, Jaguar Classic has been able to call on the superlative skills and experience of many talented engineers and technicians already working in a variety of departments within Jaguar and now dedicated to this project.
The six chosen customers will each become the owners of one of the rarest things – a brand new Lightweight E‑type, hand-built at Browns Lane that is just as desirable as one of the originals.