Jaguar D-Type Le Mans

Jaguar D-Type Le Mans

Malcolm Sayer's masterpiece, the Jaguar D-Type, took the lessons of the C-Type and advanced them dramatically. Where the C-Type used a tubular spaceframe, the D-Type pioneered monocoque construction in a sports racing car — a central aluminum alloy tub that formed the main structure, with a tubular subframe at the front carrying the engine. This construction was lighter and stiffer than any rival. Sayer's aerodynamic body, again designed using mathematical principles, featured the distinctive stabilizing fin behind the driver's head (extended on 1955+ long-nose cars). The result was devastatingly effective: the D-Type won Le Mans in 1955 (though the race was marred by the terrible Mercedes crash), 1956, and 1957 — the third victory coming in private hands after Jaguar withdrew from works racing. The 3.4-litre XK engine with dry-sump lubrication, triple Weber carburetors, and a lightweight cylinder head produced 250 hp — enough for a top speed of 170 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Jaguar built 71 D-Types: 18 works cars and 53 production examples. The 16 remaining monocoque tubs became the XKSS road car — Jaguar's first supercar — before a fire at the Browns Lane factory destroyed the remaining nine unfinished cars. Today the D-Type is considered one of the greatest racing cars ever built, with values reaching into the tens of millions.