The first of Jaguar Land Rover’s brand-new Jaguar XKSS continuations has made its world debut at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The Sherwood Green example is the first of nine cars to be built using chassis numbers allocated to original cars which were destroyed in the Browns Lane fire in 1957.
Each of the nine cars has already been sold at a £1m a piece, the same price as the firm’s six Lightweight E-type continuations, which were allocated chassis numbers from cars which never reach production.
A team from Jaguar Classic scanned several versions of the 1957 XKSS to build a complete digital image of the car, including its chassis, body and all ancillary parts. Coupled with original technical drawings, the firm has recreated the original XKSS in every detail. The magnesium alloy body was created using a bespoke styling buck based on the original cars, while the chassis was bronze welded as it was in period.
At its heart, the new XKSS is powered by a 3.4-litre straight six D-type engine featuring completely new cast iron blocks, new cast cylinder heads and three Weber DC03 carburettors. Period specification four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes sit behind period correct two-piece magnesium alloy wheels.
