The lengths Jaguar has gone to create it are extraordinary, combining the digitisation of archived drawings for what the firm says is its first recreated classic car to be reproduced fully utilising 3D computer design. The rendering of Malcolm Sayers’ aerodynamically inspired bodywork follows the same techniques and build methods that were used in period.
The 3.4-litre XK straight-six with triple Weber carbs, here with the 220PS it had in 1953 race spec, takes nine months to build. Period touches include refurbished Weber carbs and Plessey hydraulic pump on the gearbox that pumps hydraulic fluid for the all-important disc brakes.
There’s the correct Lucas fusebox cover (from 1953 mind, not the different one from 1951) while the Lucas rear-view mirror is original, the result says Jaguar of a treasure hunt for the correct parts.
There’s a Brooklands aero screen and a Smiths clock on the dash. The needle on the tachometer goes counter-clockwise (as it did in ’53) and the Rexine finish on the dashboard and side panels is taken from the last roll of this type of material that exists.