Between 1951 and 1953, 52 Jaguar C-types (or XK120C) left the Browns Lane works in Coventry. Following the strong showing by almost standard XK120's at the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours, Jaguar founder William Lyons decided to have a proper attempt at the 1951 edition of the Grand Prix d'Endurance at the legendary Sarthe circuit, two hours southwest of Paris.
Many years ago I built a fibre-glass bodied replica Jaguar D Type from a kitset. It took hundreds of hours to do the job properly, a lot more time than the four weekends claimed possible by the kit supplier. The D Type was a lot of fun but I was always slightly disappointed with the car.
