September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 113the broad sill and slipping your left leg under the
wheel can’t be rushed, as Tony Rolt discovered
after putting his foot between the spokes.
After the archaic Aston, the pilot’s seat of the
spartan Jaguar, set low inside the monocoque,
seems to have moved into the jet age. Neat,
ordered and clean, it has an uncompromising
purity with its crackle-black dash finish,
comfortable seat cushion and press-studded
trim. Unlike the DB3S, the D-type’s white-on-
black dials include a speedometer marked
to 180mph. Wyer no doubt felt that his drivers
could feel how fast they were travelling and vigi-
lance of engine revs was more important, while
Jaguar’s William Lyons appreciated the promo-
tional prestige of his car’s staggering top speed.
With the key turned, the fuel pumps start to
tick and, after priming the triple Webers, a big
plastic button lights up the potent, long-serving
straight-six. The exhaust exit on the passenger
side explodes with that unmistakable roar.
Matched to the voluptuous bonnet curves
viewed over the wraparound Perspex ’screen
while the engine warms, the D-type’s cabin is
a soul-stirring place that immediately conjures
images of Jaguar legend Mike Hawthorn.
The stubby gearlever is cranked so far forward
that your knuckles almost touch the transmis-
sion tunnel when changing up from second to
third. From the off, the sharp shift has ArmaLite
precision and you never tire of changing down
for an excuse to blip the throttle.
The engine has masses of torque, pulling
strongly from 1500rpm, while the smooth flow
of power delivers spectacular acceleration.
Accompanied by that deep-chested exhaust
blare, on the straights the D-type feels massively
fast. Lift off at higher speeds and with fractional
retardation you can almost sense the iconic
shape spearing cleanly through the air.
Designed to win on the fast, smooth surfaces
of Le Mans, the D-type’s live rear axle struggles
on bumpy country roads, but the superb rack-
and-pinion steering makes it easy to correct any
breakaway on a sudden loose patch. Unlike the
Aston, its suspension doesn’t bang and rattle
over pockmarked roads. Only the brakes fail to
inspire, the erratic Plessey pump assistance
resulting in poor feel, but this may be down to
the racing pads fitted to ‘our’ car.
Contemporary pilots confirmed the contrast-
ing character of these magnificent sports-racers.
“The Aston never had the power or the torque of
the D-type,” said Roy Salvadori. “If you were
racing against the Jaguar you had to do some
tricky stuff to get by; it was all done on the brak-
ing and cornering. But then the D-type would
always sail past on the straight. You could drive
the Jaguar as a gentleman but you had to be a
hooligan in the Aston. You really had to bully it.”
Stirling Moss drove both cars, but only three
times in a D-type. “The DB3S was a really good
road-race car,” recalled Moss. “They handled
nicely, and felt small and easy to drive, but their
engines were very pernickety about the rev limit.
The rev band always seemed very restricted. You
could run it up to the redline in an intermediate
gear, change up, and the power would just seem
to have faded. But the handling always made up
for the lack of power. It was always a forgiving
car that you could throw around – rather like my
favourite Maserati 300S, but with less power.
The Aston was prone to lifting its inside rear
wheel under hard cornering, which would causeJAGUAR D-TYPE
Sold/no built 1954-’58/67 (including
16 XKSS road cars)
Construction magnesium semi-monocoque
with steel multi-tubular front subframe
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dry-sump,
dohc 3442cc straight-six, triple Weber
45DCOE carburettors
Max power 270bhp @ 5750rpm
Max torque 256lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission all-synchromesh four-speed
manual, RWD Suspension: front independent,
by double wishbones, longitudinal torsion
bars rear live axle, torsion bars, radius arms,
A-bracket; telescopic dampers f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with gearbox-driven servo
Weight 2187lb (992kg) 0-60mph 4.7 secs
Top speed 170mph (Le Mans ratio)
Price new £3633D-type’s curvaceous body
envelops its wheels in the
search for wind-cheating
performance, while the
pretty Aston Martin looks
upright in comparison