1958 Jaguar XKSS 3.4 OTS

The Jaguar XKSS is a road-going version of the racing car, initially built in 1957. Only 16 were built and sold at the time. Nine were destroyed in a factory fire in 1957. In 2016 Jaguar announced that a small production run of nine "continuation" XKSS reproductions would be hand-built to the original specifications to complete the originally scheduled run of 25. Following 's withdrawal from competition at the end of the 1956 season, a number of completed and partly completed remained unsold at the Browns Lane factory. In an attempt to recoup some of the investment made in building these unused , and to exploit the lucrative American market for high-performance European sports cars, decided to convert a number to road-going specification. Only minor changes were made to the basic D-type structure: the addition of a passenger side door; the removal of the large fin behind the driver; and the removal of the divider between passenger and driver seats. In addition, changes were made for cosmetic, comfort and legal reasons: a full-width, chrome-surrounded windscreen was added; sidescreens were added to both driver and passenger doors; a rudimentary, folding, fabric roof was added for weather protection; chromed bumpers were added front and rear (a styling cue later used on the ); rear light clusters were mounted higher on the wings; and thin chrome strips were added to the edges of the front light fairings. By early 1957 a total of 16 of the planned production run of 25 XKSS's had been completed at Jaguar's plant. On the evening of 12 February a fire broke out, destroying the remaining nine in mid-production. All of the destroyed vehicles had been destined for North America. Most of the previously built 16 XKSSs were also sold in the US.