One of the most iconic sports racing cars of all time is the Jaguar D-Type, and my favorite sports cars ever built. The downside to the D-Type is that they tend to change hands these days for somewhere between $8 million and $22 million, putting them in the stratosphere of top collector cars.
There is a reason for these values. The D-Type is such a stunningly beautiful and capable car, and mythic in its racing success, driven by a veritable who’s who of the world’s most-famous drivers.
For regular non-billionaires, the solution is simple: buy a recreation D-Type instead. Companies have been constructing D-Type replicas for many years, and they vary from good to essentially perfect recreations of the originals. Such companies as Lynx and Proteus have created businesses based on D-Type replicas.
The Pick of the Day is a 1955 Jaguar D-Type replica that has not been totally completed, but it looks as if all the heavy lifting has been done and the necessary parts are included.
The car was built so far with the proper components, according to the Sylvania, Ohio, dealer advertising the Jag on ClassicCars.com, with a Jaguar 3.8-liter XK engine, sidedraft Weber carburetors and a gearbox coming from a V12 XK-E.
The car wears correct Dunlop wheels, and the cockpit features proper seats and proper Jaguar gauges that are laid out correctly, the seller notes. The body is formed in fiberglass over a tubular-steel frame, and the paint work is said to be excellent, as is the upholstery of the seats and the fabrication of the dash.
The seller will finish building the car at an additional cost, the ad says, but this now looks to be a very inexpensive way to have a D-Type replica. A stalled project like this car represent an amazing bargain, especially when the expensive bits such as the Jaguar engine, Jaguar gearbox and Jaguar rear end are all present and worth the $43,900 that the seller is asking for the entire car.
When complete, D-types such as this regularly change hands for more than $100,000, and the work needs to complete this should not cost the price difference.
“It is a sad circumstance how many people have a nearly completed project that stalls, but those are fantastic opportunities for the next guy,” the dealer says in the ad.
If you are mechanically inclined and always wanted a Jaguar D-Type you could complete this car and drive it around Monterey during car week, amazing your friends.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
