2010-08-10 01:24:47 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2010-08-27 14:41:33 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2011-09-03 22:02:12 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2011-11-11 07:46:36 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2012-09-05 07:12:43 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2013-09-02 14:10:31 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2015-09-08 06:45:08 | Coventry Racers writes:

The record was updated:

2009-04-14 18:37:01 | pauls writes:

According to "Jaguar D Type & XKSS" by Graham Robson car was dispatched Feb. 7, 1956. Exported to Canada.

2010-02-23 07:02:00 | Anonymous writes:

WAS BEING RESTORED IN 1980HAVING HAD A FORD 427 MOTOR PREV INSTALLED

2010-07-06 16:48:52 | pauls writes:

Car is listed to be at RM auction 8/10
www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm

Auction description:ports & Classics of Monterey
Thursday, August 12, 2010 - Saturday, August 14, 2010
1955 Jaguar D-Type Chassis No. XKD558

2010-08-09 19:47:16 | pauls writes:

Additional description from above auction:
1955 Jaguar D-Type
To be offered at auction ,Saturday, August 14, 2010
Chassis No. XKD558
Estimate: $2,000,000-$2,750,000 US
- Offered from the collection of Jerry and Kathy Nell
- A racing icon and one of the most desirable Jaguars in existence
- Complete with original engine
- Well documented and successful racing history

Chassis no. XKD 558

When new, the D-Type offered here, chassis XKD 558, was finished in cream and originally supplied to Oxford Motors in Vancouver, British Columbia and used for occasional sprint demonstrations at Abbotsford Airport. It spent some time in the Plimley Motors showroom before being sold in October 1957 to James Rattenbury, who actively raced the car in numerous events. He won his first known outing on the 20th of that month at Abbottsford. He returned to Abbotsford in March the following year, winning the race outright. For the remainder of the year, he competed in seven additional races, winning one and finishing on the podium three more times. At Ellensbury Airport in September, the car had been modified with a longer 95-inch wheelbase, deDion rear axle, Thornton differential and Hillborn fuel injection.

1959 was equally successful for him. He entered eight races, winning twice and finishing on the podium twice as well. In fact, he was also running in first place at Deer Park in September before a crown and pinion broke.

For 1960, Shelton first appeared with a new Roots-type blower, finishing in 2nd place overall on the tenth of April. In fact, he would finish second in all three additional races he entered until May. He didn’t finish at Shelton in June, however, after a spin in the rain on the main straight.

In April 1961, the D-Type was sold to Starr Calvert of Seattle, Washington, who drove XKD 558 in 21 events, achieving many wins and podiums in the process. Most notably, he and XKD 558 won the Bardahl Trophy at Pacific Raceway during this period. The car suffered a crash at West Delta Park, after which it was rebuilt, reappearing in 1964 with a 7-liter Ford V8 engine, a Borg-Warner transmission and wide Chevrolet-type racing wheels. In this configuration, the D-Type achieved some additional successes until it was sidelined by an accident in September of 1964 at Westwood, British Columbia.

It should be noted that early newspaper reports from Starr Calvert’s Westwood race crash in 1964 indicated that XKD 558 had been virtually destroyed. Grim reports were published in two books, including Philip Porter’s Jaguar Sports Racing Cars, which was first published in 1995 and revised in 1998. Porter wrote, “September 1964, Westwood British Columbia, crashed, lopping trees 20 ft. above the ground (according to a local newspaper report), seriously damaging car on landing and suffering a carburetor fire; remains said to be spread on hillside many years later.”

However, after additional research, Mr. Porter has corrected the original description: “It seems the phrase (describing the accident)…may be a little exaggerated. When writing ‘Jaguar Sports Racing Cars’, I acknowledged the late Andrew Whyte as a source of much valuable information, but it seems that this greatly respected Jaguar historian may have used a little license on this occasion.”

In a letter dated July 28th, 1999, former Lynx employee Chris Keith-Lucas reported: “The condition (of the car) did not square with the rather lurid press reports about it flying through tree tops, and so on. It was consistent with the condition related to Paul Skilleter by the late Roger Woodley, who saw the car after the accident, and said that the body was very battered, with the door torn off, and a lot of general damage.”

In addition, it should be noted that well-used racing cars in the early 1960s often got hit, rolled over or endured collisions. By the middle of the decade, a good and complete driving D-Type that was only a few years old would often sit unsold on a used car lot with an asking price of $5,000 to $6,000. Consequently, if these racing cars were damaged in an accident, it was common to refer to them as “destroyed,” “damaged beyond repair” or other doom-and-gloom descriptors, simply because the modest cost of damage repair would have been higher than the actual value of the car at the time.

Some years later after the 1964 crash, Keith-Lucas had worked on the car. He said that although the car was badly damaged indeed during the Westwood mishap, it nonetheless retained its original monocoque, sub-frame, gearbox (the original Moss box could not possibly have been mated to the 7-liter Ford V8), suspension, brakes, steering and even much of its original sheet metal. Only the lower portion of the monocoque was re-skinned. A new long-nose bonnet was installed; the original short- nose panels were retained at Lynx and were later reinstalled on XKD 558.

The engine had become separated from the car, however, and as a result, a correct 3.8-liter engine was rebuilt by Terry Larson of Arizona and fitted during the car’s rebuilding process. As confirmed by the current owner, the original engine of XKD 558 was found, by Mr. Walter Hill, being used in a boat in Florida. Hill bought the engine and restored and mounted it on the stand that it sits on to this day. Mr. Hill eventually sold XKD 558’s original engine to the current owner in 2005, complete with carburetors, cylinder head and other components for $75,000.

During the car’s restoration, the car was sold to Philippe Renault of France, who kept the car until 1987 before selling it to Rick Cole in California. Cole then sold the car to noted collector and enthusiast Harley Cluxton in 1988. Cluxton sold it one year later to Chris Mann of the UK. Mann returned the car to Lynx to have its original short-nose bonnet restored and refitted. In April 1994, Mann sold XKD 558 via Terry Larson of Arizona to Eduardo Baptista of Mexico, who kept and vintage-raced the car for several years until the late 1990s. Next, it passed through RM Classic Cars Inc., which in turn sold XKD 558 to the current owner in 1998.

The ownership chain of XKD 558 is sound and unbroken. Careful corrections to its early racing career and its post-crash state in 1964 have been made possible by the careful research and fastidious recordkeeping of its very knowledgeable and discerning owner, Kathy Nell, who has owned the car with her late husband Jerry for the past decade. Serious Jaguar collectors in every respect, the Nells are one of a limited few to have owned a C-Type, D-Type and XK-SS – the holy grail of desirable Jaguar collector cars. XKD 558 is also accompanied by its originally installed racing engine and original chassis plate. This is without exaggeration one of the most enduring, exciting and rare legends in the history of motorsports.

2011-09-03 19:16:15 | pauls writes:

Sold for $2,090,000

2011-09-03 19:26:30 | pauls writes:

Car was at Lime Rock Park 9/3/11

2012-09-04 18:28:45 | pauls writes:

Car was again at Lime Rock 9/2/12 as a Stirling Moss tribute during the Vintage Fall Festival.

2013-08-30 20:24:18 | pauls writes:

Car returned to Lime Rock Park 8/30/13

2015-09-07 15:44:30 | pauls writes:

Car returned to Lime Rock 9/6/15

2017-11-27 04:48:37 | Scott Smith writes:

I grew up with my father being the mechanic behind this car. I also have pictures of this car when wrecked and on the track. I spent many days at the track with this car and have many memories of it. Feel free to email me and I can relate more.

2021-11-30 19:28:26 | Captain RD writes:

Long nose front hood --- auction!!

No Reserve: Re-Creation Long-Nose Jaguar D-Type Bonnet for Charity for sale on BaT Auctions - ending December 7 (Lot #60,984) | Bring a Trailer

2024-03-28 02:32:01 | pat writes:

for sale here : williamianson.com/car/5147/