We Love Cars July

Double Take
the original bodies from the 1950s.
The bodies of the nine new cars will be
formed on this buck, using a traditional
process called hand-wheeling.
Jaguar Classic’s expert engineers
worked with the original frames and
from there produced CAD to support
build of the chassis. In partnership with
the Classic team, frame maker Reynolds
– famous for their 531 tubing – was
briefed to craft bespoke new parts using
imperial measurements, rather than
metric. The frames are bronze welded
in the same way as the period XKSS
chassis tubing. The continuation cars
feature period specification four-wheel
Dunlop disc brakes with a Plessey pump,
and Dunlop tyres with riveted two-piece
magnesium alloy wheels.
Under the bonnet, the XKSS is supplied
with a 262hp 3.4-litre straight
six-cylinder Jaguar D-type engine. The
engine features completely new cast
iron blocks, new cast cylinder heads
and three Weber DC03 carburetors.
Inside, the ‘new original’ XKSS features
perfect recreations of the original Smiths
gauges. Everything from the wood of
the steering wheel, to the grain of the
leather seats, through to the brass knobs
on the XKSS dashboard, is precisely as
it would have been in 1957.
Minor specification changes have
been made only to improve driver and
passenger safety. The fuel cell, for example,
uses robust, modern materials
to support throughput of modern fuels.
Customer vehicles will be hand-built
beginning this year, and it is estimated
that 10,000 man hours will go into building
each of the new XKSS
47
cars.
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