#0454 Jaguar XKSS

Cuba Grand Prix, Havana 1954

Did you know that the XKSS started life as a D-Type Jaguar? In 1957, when Jaguar retired from racing, they decided to modify 16 of the remaining 25 D-Types and offer them as muscular, roadworthy sports cars with 250 hp and a top speed of around 240 km/h. All other nine vehicles were destroyed in a fire at the Browns Lane factory in Coventry. The distinctive fin has been trimmed, and the windshield, passenger door and shock absorbers have been added. After their release at the 1957 New York Auto Show, two were shipped to pre-revolutionary Cuba. This example, chassis number 766, chasing down the Havana Ocean Shore Straight followed by a Ferrari 750 Monza, was purchased by JB "Pepillo" Del Cuerto. He was killed in this car during a high-speed driving test in the narrow streets of Havana. It was later repaired on the island and returned to England in 1986 on behalf of legendary car collector Colin Crabbe. After a period in the Dönhoff collection, it was restored to its original state in the color "mist grey" at JD Classics in Chelmsford/England in 2010.