Stunning ’56 Jaguar D-Type Replica: Better Than Real Thing?
Real Jaguar D-Type racers go for big money these days, but you won’t find a better alternative than a Tempero recreation.
Of the many drop-dead gorgeous cars Jaguar has produced in its illustrious history, few can measure up to the vaunted D-Type. But the D-Type wasn’t just a beautiful thing to look at, of course. It also helped Jaguar continue its hot streak at Le Mans, securing wins in 1955, 1956, and 1957. Thanks to this winning combination of looks and motorsports prominence, original D-Types are obviously incredibly rare and expensive these days. But this amazing replica we came across at RM Sotheby’s certainly appears to be a worthy alternative. It’s also going up for grabs at the auction house’s Amelia Island sale on March 6-7.
This particular replica was constructed by Tempero Coach & Motor Company of New Zealand, renowned manufacturer of sports car recreations. Thus, the quality of the build is obviously top notch. For starters, the entire body is hand crafted from sheets of aluminum. It’s then placed on top of a custom chassis, which features a 4.2-liter XK twin-cam six-cylinder engine with triple 44 mm Weber carburetors. A four-speed manual transmission allows the driver to truly enjoy their open-air experience, too.
The entire exterior was then covered in British Racing Green, an appropriate hue given this car’s roots. There are plenty of old school racing features on the outside as well, including leather bonnet straps, a custom driver’s windshield, and side exit exhaust. If you want to streamline things a bit at the track, there’s also a removable body panel to cover the passenger compartment. Finally, a set of timeless Dunlop-style “knock-off” wheels wrapped in Blockley 205/70VR15 radial tires completes the look.
The interior is equally plush, trimmed in black leather in most places. But the aluminum floor and doors remain uncovered for obvious reasons. The cockpit is also laden with Smiths instrumentation, a thick wood-rimmed steering wheel, and Securon seat belts. Overall, it’s every bit as finely detailed as you’d expect. Arguably more so than a real Jaguar D-Type of this vintage.
Plus, the fact that this is a replica only increases your desire to get out and drive it. Fear of wrecking a real D-Type likely keeps most of them sealed up in vaults these days, sadly. But in this case, you can whip your old fashioned racer around a track, just like it was designed to do. And in our minds, that makes this Jaguar D-Type replica almost better than the real thing.
Photos: RM Sotheby’s
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