A pair of wonderful Jaguars

Jaguar XKSS (photographed by the author)

You never know what you'll find at a local car show but I was surprised to see these two fantastic Jaguars at an event this weekend in Scottsdale. I'm not sure why I should be surprised as there are a number of significant collections within the area. These two are both from the same collection.

The first car seen below, a C Type Jaguar (XK120-C), is the "competition" version of Jaguar's landmark XK120 road car. The XK120 was introduced in 1948 to great fanfare and shortly thereafter Jaguar introduced the C Type. Produced between 1951 and 1953, only 53 were built - and yes, this one is the real deal. The C Type famously won on its first time at Le Mans (1951) at the hands of Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead. The twin-cam, inline 6-cylinder engine produces over 200hp.

The next car is an XKSS, the street version of Jaguar's D Type competition car. The D Type was introduced in 1954 and would win Le Mans in 1955, 1956, and 1957. When Jaguar retired from racing is 1957 (temporarily) the company had 25 D Type cars under production and needed to sell them. They would alter the car slightly, making it road legal, and sell them as the XKSS. Although, the D Type (and XKSS) share the same basic engine as the C Type, this car is a completely different chassis (monocoque construction). Jaguar's plan was cut short when a fire swept through the factory and a number of the XKSS cars under production were destroyed. It's said that only 16 of these cars survive. I've had the good fortune to see 4 of them in person - fantastic.

Jaguar C Type (photographed by the author)

Jaguar XKSS (photographed by the author)