17 Feb Jaguar D-Type back in production

Jaguar Classic is re-starting production of the iconic D-Type in Coventry, 62 years after the last example was built in 1956. The first Jaguar D-type to be assembled by Jaguar Classic, an engineering prototype, made to 1956 Long-nose specification, made its world debut at the Salon Retromobile in Paris on 7 February.

Just 25 new examples of the D-Type will be meticulously hand-built at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Warwickshire. In 1955, Jaguar planned to build 100 D-Types, but with only 75 completed, Jaguar Classic is now fulfilling the company’s original ambition by creating 25 all-new, period-correct sports cars.

Jaguar Classic experts’ painstaking research, with exclusive access to original Jaguar engineering drawings and records, ensures each new D-Type will be built to the authentic specifications laid down by competitions manager Lofty England and his engineers in the 1950s. Clients can choose either 1955-specification Short-nose or 1956-spec Long-nose bodywork. The D-type, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours race three times between 1955 and 1957, was powered by the six-cylinder XK engine. Every aspect of the D-types built for clients from 2018 will be created to authentic, original specification.

“The opportunity to continue the D-type’s success story by completing its planned production run in Coventry, is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that our world-class experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic are proud to fulfil,” says Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director Tim Hannig.  
The D-type is the third continuation vehicle from Jaguar Classic, complementing the six missing Lightweight E-Types completed in 2014-15 and nine XKSSs built in 2017-18.