Jaguar is about to make everything old new again… again.
In February 1957, Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory caught fire, destroying nine Jaguar XKSS sports cars. Considered by many to be the world’s first supercar, all twenty-five cars were originally set for export to the United States, but only sixteen survived.
In a follow-up to their successful Lightweight E-Type continuation cars from a couple of years ago, Jaguar announced at the New York International Auto Show that they will be building the “lost” nine cars by hand at their new “Experimental Shop” and selling them to collectors from around the world.
Jaguar Land Rover Classic, the division of the company responsible for providing service to owners of vintage vehicles, will use methods learned while building the continuation Lightweight E-Types a couple of years ago. These XKSS continuation cars will be built to the exact same specifications as the original cars XKSS, but with a modern eye to detail.
Jaguar Land Rover Classic, when asked about price, would only say that it will be “in excess of £1 million, or over $1.4 million, and will begin delivery in 2017, the 60th anniversary of that tragic fire.
I hope this trend continues with other automakers, as the world needs the special history and beauty that only cars like this can provide.
