Video: The racing Jaguar you’ve never heard of

Built by a man who wanted to race a C-Type Jaguar but couldn’t get his hands on one, the car is based on a modified XK120 chassis – chopped to accommodate the shorter fibreglass Mistral body – but with a C-Type engine providing the punch. The result was a car lighter than the XK120 with the power to compete with Le Mans racers like the C-Type. 

It’s appearance in 2024’s Peter Collins Trophy marked the Mistral’s first proper outing since 1955, and it showed us precisely what it was built for: four-wheel drifting around the Goodwood Motor Circuit with the familiar beating roar of a Jaguar straight-six as a backing track, chasing the tails of the company's more expensive C-Types.

“Driving a D-Type, I’d be expected to be starting from nearer the front of the grid and looking to battle for the win, which I am not going to do with this [the Mistral], but I’m just looking forward to having a really good race,” said owner Gary Pearson, told the story of his car before it headed out on the track. Fighting until the finish line with Nigel Webb’s C-Type, it certainly put on a show.

The 82^nd Members’ Meeting will take place on 12^th and 13^th April 2025 and tickets are now available for Members and Fellows of the GRRC.

If you’re not already a Member or Fellow and you’d like to enjoy all the racing, demos, and other exciting content at the Members’ Meeting, you’ll need to join the GRRC. Click here for more information or to join the club.