1970 Jaguar D-Type Recreation

Description

From a deceased estate; one of only 12 made by Revival Motorsport for racing purposes; Rob Beere 4.2 race engine and Tremec 5-speed 'box; current owner 10 years; meticulously maintained and in superb condition throughout

One of the most arresting shapes in the history of car design, the 1954 Jaguar D-Type was built with one aim in mind – to win races. Although it shared the same 3.4 straight-six XK engine as its C-Type predecessor, the majority of the car was radically different.

Its most ground-breaking innovation was the introduction of a monocoque chassis which combined aircraft-style engineering with aviation-standard aerodynamics – largely the work of Malcolm Sayer, who had joined Jaguar from the Bristol Aircraft Company.

The D-Type went as well as it looked, humbling much larger-engined machinery from the likes of Ferrari and Maserati by winning Le Mans outright in 1955 and '56 before repeating the process in 1957, taking five of the top six places.

The bad news is that just 71 D-Types were built up to 1957 and real ones are strictly for multi-millionaires only. The good news is that, unlike an equivalent Ferrari or Maserati, the engine from the D-Type was basically the same XK unit as fitted to every Jaguar made up until the mid-‘70s, so it is possible for a skilled engineer to make a convincing replica.

No ordinary replica, this particular D-Type is a serious bit of kit that was professionally built for racing purposes by John Arnold and his team at Revival Motorsport of Kirkby Mallory. Number 4 of 12 built between 2001 and 2003 (build no. TEC TF 004RMS), it has a composite GRP/Kevlar reinforced fire-retardant lightweight body and a tubular steel space-frame chassis.

It rides on 16” replica Dunlop peg-drive alloy wheels shod with Dunlop racing tyres and has disc brakes all round, outboard at the rear, like the original D-Types. Other features include rack-and-pinion steering, adjustable pedal box, a plumbed-in fire extinguisher and a foam-filled fuel tank with a Facet Gold-Flo fuel pump.

Under the bonnet lurks a 4.2-litre Rob Beere race engine with competition pistons, high compression head, lightened flywheel and triple Weber 45 DCOE carbs. Power output is in the region of 305bhp – 380bhp depending on the state of tune. Driving through a Tremec 5-speed close-ratio gearbox with rose-jointed E-Type independent rear suspension and a Salisbury limited slip diff, it is said to be capable of sprinting to 60mph in 4.2 seconds with a top speed of 180mph. (Genuine D-Types had an unsophisticated beam axle and produced c.280bhp with a 4-speed Moss ‘box, a top speed of 170mph and 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds.)

This D-Type competed in six short club races early in its life without damage or incident, in the hands of the first owner. The second owner kept it from 2008 – 2013 and did fewer than 1,000 gentle road miles in the car, mainly taking it to shows.

Our vendor, an HSCC member and former Ferrari racer, acquired the car from Racing Green of Hampshire in December 2013. At this point the car had a rear roll cage fitted, a ‘long nose’ bonnet and a fairly basic race dashboard with no speedo. It also had the odd scuff and scrape and was nowhere near as sharp as it looks today.

Initially finding it a bit too raw for road use, our vendor sent the car back to Revival Motorsport to make it more comfortable and easier to drive. This included de-tuning the race suspension by replacing the springs, softening the shock absorbers and reducing the negative camber. The carbs and ignition timing were also altered to make it pull smoothly at low revs and idle smoothly at tickover, the racing clutch was replaced by an AP/Helix kit and the exhaust was made quieter.

The ‘long nose’ bonnet was also changed for a ‘short nose’ and a bespoke dashboard was specially made and fitted with a Smiths digital speedo, RaceTech gauges and lots of period-looking knobs and switches, the functions of which are all clearly shown in drawings on file.

An absolute stickler for detail, our vendor also carried out many other subtle modifications to the car, travelling the length and breadth of the country to examine other D-Types (both real and replica), to get it exactly as he wanted it. These mods are way too complex to list in full here but are amply covered in dozens of notes, emails, letters, invoices and photos on file. In fact the history file for this car is dauntingly vast and will keep the new owner happily engrossed for hours.

Rest assured, it has been obsessively maintained and improved throughout the current 10-year ownership and you will find it hard to fault. The invoices from Revival Motorsports alone (later trading as Brooklands Motorsport) amount to over £25,000 since 2015 and include regular, meticulous servicing.

Originally registered as XFH 151H, this number was changed to UKD 130 in 2007, becoming USU 846 in 2013, a transferable number which was put on the car by our vendor when he acquired it. The V5C records it as a 1970 Jaguar 2.8 XJ6 4,235cc with Historic Vehicle status so it is free to tax and MOT-exempt.

On offer here from a deceased estate, this D-Type has not been raced in the current ownership and has only covered 630 fine weather miles in the last eight years. Although it no longer needs one, it has been MOT’d virtually every year since 2006, the last MOT having expired in August 2022 with no advisories recorded. Unused in the last year or so due to illness, it has been starting promptly and running well as we have moved it around on site, with good 60psi oil pressure.

As good an example as you could ever wish to find, this beautiful D-Type replica offers all the looks and performance of the original at a fraction of the cost. Who wouldn’t love to have it in their garage?

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]