When Jaguar retired from racing in 1956, the British company decided to capitalise on the ever-growing market of European sports cars in the United States and produce a new road-going model. Instead of devoting the time, money, and effort into designing and building something completely brand new, they repurposed the remaining stock of one of their most successful racing models, the D-type. The new model was called the XKSS, and the example on offer by Gooding & Co. is one of just 16 produced (nine unfinished chassis unfortunately perished in a plant fire) and one of just two originally delivered to Canada. After over four years of racing, finishing first no less than 12 times, the XKSS retired and spent the next few decades bouncing between both sides of the pond under different ownership.

Whilst in the UK in the early ’80s, the car was converted back to D-type specification, with all the XKSS components being put aside for future use. Almost 30 years later, the car was finally reunited with its original XKSS parts in the United States, when it underwent a concours-quality restoration, which was completed just in time for an XKSS reunion at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2010. After attending a few tours and concours in both Europe and North America, this dark green Jaguar will be rolling into the limelight at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island sale on 10 March. The only XKSS that could possibly upstage this machine is McQueen’s ‘Green Rat’, and we think it’s safe to say that there’s very little chance of that going anywhere anytime soon…

Photos: Gooding & Company © 2017