The Jaguar D-Type looks its part in a way that even few other competition cars of the 1950s do: Even sitting still, it fairly radiates speed and lightness. It is, at its heart, a strong, lightweight monocoque body tub, snugly fitting the driver, with a solid rear axle and suspension assembly at their back; an XK-type twin-cam inline six, cradled in a subframe, snarling at their feet; and Dunlop disc brakes securing all four corners. The car appears light because it is light, introducing construction concepts that, while massively modernized, are still used today because they were successful in their day: The D-Type finished a narrow 2nd Overall in its first entry at Le Mans in 1954, then returned a year later to win outright. Jaguar withdrew from competition following the 1956 season but the D-Type kept going, winning Le Mans two further times, in 1956 and 1957, for the Ecurie Ecosse.

The D-Type became a star of endurance circuits because, on a good surface and in the right, skilled hands, almost nothing could beat it on straights or in curves. Yet, as chassis number XKD 530, offered here, proved, it could be surprisingly, even surpassingly successful on other tarmac as well—becoming a worthy, colorful star in a nation far-flung from Goodwood and the Mulsanne Straight, and establishing a history that is truly all its own. It was the kind of history that Paul Andrews appreciated—history that it might be said, one can feel in the car, evoking a bygone age even as today’s sights and sounds hurtle past the edges of the curved windscreen.

XKD 530: D-TYPE ON ICE

One of 54 privateer D-Types produced, chassis XKD 530 left the factory on 13 February 1956, finished in British Racing Green, as noted on its Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate. Finnish Jaguar dealer S.M.K. delivered the car in April 1956 to Curt Lincoln, a tennis player on Finland’s Davis Cup team, known in the racing world for his exploits in F3 midget cars and, more pointedly, a Jaguar C-Type. He now upgraded to the latest and best machinery, although he was none too eager to have the Finnish authorities know that. To avoid new vehicle tariffs on the D-Type, he reportedly had Jaguar fit a noticeably used steering wheel, “worn” pedals, and a discreetly tweaked odometer.

The D-Type successfully arrived in Finland and was primarily campaigned in the country’s best-known race of the period, the Eläintarhanajo, held annually between 1932 and 1963 on a two-kilometer track in the heart of Helsinki. With a final drive ratio increased to 3.54:1, the car was driven by Mr. Lincoln under the banner of his Scuderia Askolin, named for the timber magnate who was part-team owner. It finished 1st in Class on 10 May 1956, followed by a second 1st in Class later in the season with its owner competing against his “old” C-Type, lent to Väinö Miettinen for the contest.

XKD 530 would once again run the Eläintarhanajo in 1957, but its primary exploits after 1956 were in that most uniquely northern motorsport: ice racing. Running tires embedded with 1¾-inch spikes, XKD 530 and Mr. Lincoln achieved 1st Place finishes on the ice on 24 February and 10 March 1957.

At that point, XKD 530 was refinished in Scuderia Askolin’s distinctive white and dark blue livery, and was handled largely by the team’s other drivers while Mr. Lincoln drove other cars. Correspondence suggests that Mr. Lincoln expressed interest in converting the car into an XK-SS for GT Class racing, but in the end undertook further competition modifications domestically, with Helsinki coachbuilders Wiima adding a full-length windscreen, a nearside door, and a custom tail fin. In this form the car continued to run in the 1958 season, recording numerous 1st and 2nd Place finishes to further embellish its record.

On 26 May 1959, Mr. Lincoln wrote to Jaguar racing chief, F.R.W. “Lofty” England, stating that the rigors of competition had made an overhaul necessary. That December, XKD 530 arrived at the Works competition department at Coventry, and there the engine block was replaced with a factory 3.8-litre example. The 40-millimeter Weber carburetors were replaced with 45-millimeter units, the gearbox and brakes were reconditioned, and the car was refinished in white. XKD 530 then returned to Scuderia Askolin with a written tag stating “+100 hp,” and Mr. Lincoln resumed racing it, taking the checkered flag twice more in February 1960.

In late 1960, after five seasons of highly successful competition, XKD 530 finally passed to its second owner, magazine publisher Olli Lyytikäinen, who continued to race the car, usually with future international rally driver Timo Mäkinen behind the wheel. The following year, the car experienced one of its most publicized races, when Heimo Hietarinta finished 1st in the Formula Libre class at the Leningrad Grand Prix on 27 August 1961. With this race, XKD 530 became what is believed to be the only D-Type to ever race in the Soviet Union—an occasion reported in the September 1961 issue of the Finish magazine, Tekniikan Maailma.

MODERN HISTORY

By November 1966, following several further short-term owners, XKD 530 was no longer competitive on Finland’s ice courses and was sold to the noted British collector, vintage racer, and prolific D-Type acquirer, Nigel Moores. When Moores acquired the car, it showed its hard use, with the body having been modified to an open two-seater cockpit with a truncated tail. Rebuilding the original body was prohibitively expensive given the value of what was, at the time, simply an outmoded race car. It was decided that the construction manner used on later D-Types, which involved separately bolting a front and rear chassis sub-frame to the body monocoque, afforded the opportunity to remove the damaged body while also preserving as many original chassis components as possible.

Mr. Moores’ staff accordingly separated the chassis tub, mounted all-new bodywork in the factory long-nose style, and fitted the car with the wide-angle head D-Type engine originally used by the Briggs Cunningham team. The separated monocoque body, original factory-upgraded 3.8-liter engine, and gearbox, were put aside and eventually sold in the mid-1980s to historic racer John Harper, who repaired the coachwork and mounted it to an all-new chassis consisting largely of various original Jaguar factory components. Unfortunately, in a scenario not uncommon to the period, both cars were stamped with the chassis number XKD 530, and so a controversy gradually emerged as to the two cars’ proper identities and as to whom owned the “real” XKD 530. Ole Sommer, a D-Type owner and museum proprietor in Denmark, summed up the situation to Arthur Urciuloi after Urciuloli bought the original monocoque car in 1993. “It seems difficult,” Sommer wrote, “to rectify the situation, unless some benevolent person should decide to purchase both cars and exchange the front sub-frames and the legal documents, resulting in only one single car claiming to be XKD 530.”

By the late 1990s, that path had become feasible, and Sommer’s wistful dream became reality when Gary Bartlett acquired both cars in 1998 and 2002 respectively. Both were delivered in late 2002 to D-Type historian and expert Chris Keith-Lucas’s highly regarded CKL Developments of East Sussex. Both cars were fully disassembled, with their individual part numbers noted, and after comparing them to original factory parts numbering, supplied by a longtime D-Type expert, the parts were separated and color-coded to identify which were original to XKD 530. Any doubt over which piece belonged to which car were put to rest when CKL remounted the repaired original monocoque onto the original chassis frame—and found that the original factory bolt holes, fortuitously not uniformly drilled, matched precisely for a form-fitting connection. As such, XKD 530 was finally completed in mid-2003, whole again once more.

The completed car was taken to Goodwood, where it was photographed on the circuit for the conclusion of a five-part article, documenting its resurrection, by Paul Skilleter and Jim Patten that ran in Jaguar World Monthly magazine between December 2002 and September 2003. At Goodwood it was joined by Mike Salman, the veteran Le Mans driver who had captained several D-Types in-period. It went on to run the Mille Miglia Storica no fewer than four times, and was invited to the 2009 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Vintage racing participation included the Stirling Moss Trophy at the 2011 Silverstone Classic and the Sussex Trophy at both the 2011 and 2012 Goodwood Revivals, finishing 8th Overall and 1st among all D-Type entrants in the latter. The car then passed in 2013 to British enthusiast Andrew Baber.

When it came time for Paul Andrews to acquire a D-Type, in 2015, it was natural that he looked to XKD 530. Accompanied by its FIVA Passport and FIA papers, having been scrutinized by some of the marque’s leading experts, and retaining once again its original factory-upgraded engine, transmission, chassis frame, monocoque body, and brake calipers, it was all that one could wish for. It had soon been added to the collection, and, in typical fashion, did not sit still for long; it is estimated that the car has been driven some nearly 2,500 miles in its Andrews ownership, including on the Colorado Grand. One wonders how many modern D-Type owners have covered that many miles at the wheel of their machine! The fuel cell bladder has been changed, with the original accompanying the car along with a roll bar and other large spares; further, the brakes and clutch have been rebuilt, as well as new Dunlop tires fitted.

The story of XKD 530 pauses here before continuing, in the hands of a new owner, who, as Paul Andrews did, will appreciate all of its many robust attributes on road, track, or ice.