Jaguar XKSS History

After retiring its works racing team, Jaguar converted surplus D-Types into the street-legal XKSS, adding a passenger door, a full-width windscreen, and minimal road equipment to make them eligible for American production-sports-car racing.

Only 16 were completed: a fire at Jaguar's Browns Lane plant on 12 February 1957 destroyed nine of the cars then being built, ending the project and making the XKSS one of the most coveted and valuable Jaguars ever. Decades later Jaguar built a small run of 'continuation' XKSS cars to complete the original intended number.