Review: Jaguar revives the iconic XKSS, once lost to fire
Movie star and racing enthusiast Steve McQueen once owned a XKSS.
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For those who obsess over vintage automobiles, any rare classic is worth our time; we delight in observing the engineering of the day. But when that car was either owned by a famous person or had a storied racing career, it becomes something special to many. The Jaguar XKSS is just that kind of car.
Only a handful of these cars remain; the rest are lost to history. But Jaguar has decided to revive this stunning car, and its efforts to restore the few remaining cars is nothing short of obsessive.
Movie star and racing enthusiast Steve McQueen once owned a XKSS. It was the road-going version of the Jaguar D-Type, a car that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1955, 1956, and 1957. For cars to compete in certain classes of Le Mans, a few road-worthy versions must be built to prove the “car” part of “sports car” racing. When Jaguar temporarily retired from racing, a number of unused chassis were built upon. This car became the XKSS.
The D-Type had a large fin behind the driver for aerodynamic stability, which was removed in the XKSS, as was the center divider. A passenger side door was also added. The exhaust was fitted out the side, and the barely-there windscreen of the D-Type was replaced with a slightly more robust windshield with an actual frame. Twenty-five cars had been planned using the remaining D-Type chassis.
On the night of February 12, 1957, a fire broke out at Jaguar’s Browns Lane facility. Sixteen cars had already been built and sold, but the nine cars sill in production were lost in the fire. Now, almost 60 years later, Jaguar is recreating those cars.
Jaguar set about absorbing every bit of information it could find on the cars. Engineers went to modern owners of original XKSS cars and electronically scanned them so that they had a supremely accurate frame from which to work.
Some tools used to build the original cars no longer existed. So Jaguar did what any sensible outfit would do when the proper tooling has been lost to history—they rebuilt all of them. The specs were not available in Metric or Standard—the engineers at Jaguar had to recreate rivets, brackets, and even tools to Imperial standards. You couldn’t buy the nuts and bolts for this car, so they were fabricated from scratch.
VINTAGE FUN: The revived XKSS was unveiled at the Petersen Automotive Museum just feet away from this original XKSS, once owned by Steve McQueen.
After months and a significant investment, the XKSS was revealed to the motoring press in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The reveal was done at the Petersen Auto Museum, widely praised for its stunning collection of cars, including the XKSS once owned by McQueen. Not 20 yards away from where that car was displayed, a silk sheet was removed from the first of the recreated Jags. Proudly, Jaguar suggested that this new XKSS was a more perfect example (from an engineering standpoint) than the McQueen car.
The beauty of this car cannot be understated. There are many modern road cars that are visually appealing, but modern race cars are a direct result of function. There is a mechanical coldness to newer race cars, but models from the 1950s are the ultimate blend of form and function. Aerodynamics, at that time, was only loosely understood and the result was long, flowing bodies like the D-Type and XKSS. One could easily argue that there will never be as beautiful an era in car design as the mid-20th century, which produced stunners from the Ferrari 250 TR to the Porsche 917K
The XKSS stands as a symbol of what we’re capable of through engineering and passion. As we enter the next decade and beyond, where autonomous vehicles and electric cars will create greater distance between these classics and tomorrow’s models, let’s hope we can maintain that passion for something as loud, snarling, and prone to leaks as the XKSS.
Jaguar XKSS
THE BASICS
Price today: $1,230,000+ (£1,000,000+). Fuel economy: Who cares? Engine: 3.4L I6, 4-speed manual, rear-wheel drive. Body: Two-seat roadster.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 250 (original). Overall length: 157.1 in. Wheelbase 90.6 in. Height: 44.1 in. Width: 65.4 in. Curb weight: 2,030 lbs.
THE GOOD
If you are even considering one, you’re about a dozen tax brackets above me.
THE BAD
Ha.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A chance to own history, with Jaguar’s tech support as backup.
ALSO CONSIDER
Mona Lisa, Magna Carta, private island.
George Kennedy is a freelance automotive journalist. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GKenns101.
