Jaguar to Make XKSS Again

The car originates from Jaguar's history with Le Mans, when the D-Type won the race in 1955, 19056 and 1957. Then boss at Jaguar, Sir William Lyons, decided to convert the remaining D-Types to road cars. He had 25 cars to modify by adding a new windscreen, passenger side door, removing the divider between driver and passenger, and finally removing the fin behind the driver's seat. And thus the XKSS was born. Sadly a fire at Jaguar's Brown Lane factory in 1957 meant 9 cars still on the shop floor were destroyed. It is those 9 that Jaguar wants to make from scratch again. And while they will be true to the original car for the most part, there would be a few modern elements too.

Tim Hannig Director, Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said, "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.

The original cars that were lost in the fire had been destined for sale in the United States while the rest 16 had been completed before disaster struck. So now 6 decades later Jaguar is going to build the XKSS for a select group of established collectors and customers. Every car will use the same specifications as the first 16 made in 1957. The company says its expertise gained during the construction of the lightweight E-type project last year will also come into play on the 'new' XKSS. Each one will be hand built at Jaguar's new 'Experimental Shop' in Warwick. This is a new facility that will also be used to restore existing classics. The deliveries for the XKSS will begin in early 2017, and the car is priced at approximately $1.5 million.