Jaguar XKSS Continuation is the Octane Car of the Year

The Jaguar XKSS Continuation – Jaguar’s recreation of the ‘missing XKSS cars – has won the 2017 Octane Magazine Car of the Year Award.

It’s eighteen months since Jaguar announced they would build the ‘missing’ XKSS models lost in a fire at Browns Lane in 1957. The first new Jaguar XKSS in 60 years.

Whatever you think about the idea of building new models of original iconic classic cars – and the Jaguar XKSS is perhaps the most appealing, and rare, of Jaguar’s classics – the continuation XKSS is a real triumph.

Crafted over 100,000 man hours, Jaguar first scanned original XKSS models to build a digital databank of every tiny bit of the car, created new styling bucks for the hand-crafted magnesium alloy panels and fitted a 3.4 litre straight-six engine with triple Webbers, a four-speed manual gearbox and faithful recreations of the original Smiths instruments.

Now, all that effort has been rewarded with the continuation Jaguar XKSS winning the Octane Magazine Car of the Year Award for 2017.

It’s testament to the work being done at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works, which has also been busy restoring classic Jaguars and classic Land Rovers and even producing an electric E-Type.

John Edwards, JLR Special Operations MD, said:

It is a huge honour to receive such a prestigious award for the XKSS, 12 months to the day since the continuation Car Zero made its global debut in Los Angeles.
Since then we have launched Range Rover and Jaguar Reborn restoration programmes and shown the inventive fully-electric Jaguar E-type Zero too. All of these projects, and more, come to life at our brand-new home – Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works – so we’re delighted that our team’s enthusiasm, expertise and support for the heritage of Jaguar and Land Rover has also been recognised.

Jaguar LAnd Rover also won the ‘Manufacturer Heritage Collection of the Year’ award from Octane, judged by a panel of 22 including Nick Mason and Jay Leno.