Jaguar D-Type Short Nose

Chassis XKD 558 is a 1955 'Short Nose' D-Type with an unusually busy competition record. It was a Canadian demonstrator for Plimley Motors in 1956 and 1957, then raced hard by Jim Rattenbury and Starr Calvert. The page cites at least 38 races between 1957 and 1965, with 15 wins, 10 seconds, 6 thirds and 6 class wins.

During the Rattenbury and Calvert years the car was developed with fuel injection, a De Dion rear axle, a Roots supercharger and finally a 7-litre Ford 427 V8. It was restored in 1973 and 1990 by Chris Keith-Lucas of CKL at Lynx Motors, and he inspected it again during the most recent restoration and wrote a report on its completeness and originality.

The original monocoque, engine, front chassis and bonnet are retained, and the early back axle and gearbox are original but from another car. During the last restoration the original front frame, bonnet, engine and gearbox were set aside to protect them. A new bonnet, front frame, 3.4-litre engine and gearbox were fitted so the car could be raced. It has run in the Woodcote Trophy, Le Mans Classic and the Goodwood Revival. The price is not published.