{"id":832317,"date":"2024-03-20T01:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T01:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/?page_id=832317"},"modified":"2024-03-23T18:22:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-23T18:22:26","slug":"jaguar-d-type-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/all-brands\/jaguar\/jaguar-d-type-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaguar D-Type (1954 \u2013 1958)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Jaguar D-Type<\/h1>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">1954 &#8211; 1958<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">The Jaguar D-Type was a purebred racing machine, a direct evolution of the successful C-Type. With its slippery, wind-cheating body shaped by advanced aviation-inspired aerodynamics, it was built for one thing: outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The D-Type lived up to its purpose, clinching three consecutive Le Mans wins from 1955 to 1957. Its powerful XK engine, monocoque construction, and superior disc brakes created a potent package that dominated the competition and established Jaguar as a force to be reckoned with in endurance racing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#block-wrap-98405\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">Overview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"#block-wrap-49985\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">The Legend<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"#block-wrap-38340\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">Model Guides<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"#block-wrap-27233\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">The Racing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"#block-wrap-81353\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">Image Gallery<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"#block-wrap-80739\" rel=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">More Updates<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1955-Jaguar-D-Type-001-2000-scaled-1.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The D-Type is, I\u2019m certain, the finest sports car yet made in England. One drives it almost by thought alone&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><small>&lt;p&gt;Mike Hawthorn (Jaguar driver, 1955 Le Mans winner)&lt;\/p&gt;<\/small><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Jaguar D-Type Engineering<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">Design requirements for the D-Type said it should be lower and shorter that its predecessor. This would help the car achieve a higher top speed and increased cornering capability. Most of the form for the car came from mathematical computation with the help of Malcom Sayer. Initial tests on the unpainted prototype car, chassis XKC401, revealed a top speed of 178 mph, almost 30mph faster than the Type-C!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">At the heart of the D-Type was an innovative chassis structure. It used stressed-skin engineering, incorporating the framework with riveted aluminum body panels to form a single rigid structure. Such design made the D-Type one of the first cars to use monocoque construction. As on the C-Type, both the front and rear panels of the car remained unstressed and easily removable for repairs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">The 1954 D-Type used a magnesium alloy for it\u2019s body, framework and suspension. While this did keep weight down, it made production expensive and repairs even more expensive. By 1955 these materials were replaced by simple aluminum and steel counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">The XK-based engine powering the D-Type played a large role in helping achieve a high top speed. It was both shorter, thanks to dry-sump lubrication, and more powerful than the previous engines. The combination of a revised block, larger valves and triple Weber carburetors helped the engine achieve 245 bhp.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\">Dunlop disc brakes were employed to all four wheels. Jaguar worked exclusively with Dunlop during the fifties to adapt aircraft disc brakes to road cars. In 1953 the first use of disc brakes was witnessed on the C-Type works cars. It was this potent feature that helped the C-Type achieve victory at the 1953 Lemans. Suspension of the D-Type type used double wishbones up front with a rigid axle in the rear. This was the familiar setup found on all production Jaguars during the period.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Jaguar D-Type &amp; Racing<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;It was the most aerodynamic car we&#8217;d seen up to that time\u2026 a hell of a motorcar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><small>&lt;p&gt;Stirling Moss&lt;\/p&gt;<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jaguar D-Type 1954 &#8211; 1958 The Jaguar D-Type was a purebred racing machine, a direct evolution of the successful C-Type. With its slippery, wind-cheating body shaped by advanced aviation-inspired aerodynamics, it was built for one thing: outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The D-Type lived up to its purpose, clinching three consecutive Le Mans wins from 1955 to 1957. Its powerful XK engine, monocoque construction, and superior disc brakes created a potent package that dominated the competition [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":832327,"parent":354510,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-832317","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jaguar D-Type (1954 - 1958)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Jaguar D-Type was a purebred racing machine, a direct evolution of the successful C-Type. 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