Where can I find an XKSS (replica)?
Discussion
A common misconception Ken. Yes a can of worms was opened when a certain Colonel Stuffy wrote to the DVLA about the Pur Sang Argentinian copy Type 35 Bugs, but after several cars had their registrations withdrawn that matter went away. The new registration problems (which also seem to have gone away in the main if you read the document properly) are all about the EU directive as to what actually is the definition of a collectible, and they took the UNESCO definition of 30 years. So you and I are collectible it seems. I suggest that all and sundry keep an eye out for the next news letter on th FBHVA site which will explain in more detail.
As regards the critics of replicas, I for one would be over the moon to own a real one, but two D-types failed to sell a week back even when bid to nearly $9 million. But I have always desired such a car, and for me to own an alloy replica, even if under the skin it is all E-type, is as near as I will ever get. It is my money and my choice, and even though the car is worth more than the bloody house it is not for sale. That, dear folks, is called passion.
As regards the critics of replicas, I for one would be over the moon to own a real one, but two D-types failed to sell a week back even when bid to nearly $9 million. But I have always desired such a car, and for me to own an alloy replica, even if under the skin it is all E-type, is as near as I will ever get. It is my money and my choice, and even though the car is worth more than the bloody house it is not for sale. That, dear folks, is called passion.
Edited by lowdrag on Friday 2nd February 12:42
lowdrag said:
The new registration problems (which also seem to have gone away in the main if you read the document properly)
They haven't gone away............ 
You are confusing the criteria for MOT/VED tax status for an existing registered vehicle, as per EU directive, and allocation of a new registration number by DVLA to a currently unregistered import/restoration/rebuild/kit/custom/replica/whatever.....they are two entirely different things, and the criteria for gaining a new registration (or retention of old one etc) hasn't changed for a number of years, the only difference being where previously DVLA were a bit lax in this, they are now applying the existing rules much more strictly.
Oh, and this from a few days ago if you think this is going away.......
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/exracer-sues-af...
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/exracer-sues-af...
lowdrag said:
Well, I shall await the new guidance from the Federation on this.
Again...........The new guidance is in regard to VED only......NOT guidance for applying for new registration.
There has been no change of rules/guidance or anything regarding applying for a registration since SVA was changed to BIVA/NIVA.
DVLA are now applying those rules more rigidly for new registration, rather than their previous lax approach.
Witness SGS inspections now most new imports prior to granting a number plate.
i understand, but I know that some new replicas are still getting through with no problems. I am not saying that you aren't right, just that I am somewhat confused by conflicting advice from several different people. Jaguar have registered one of their new XKSS cars it seems, looking at the Amazon programme.
If you watched the 'Grand tour', last weekend you'll have seen a UK '17' reg XKSS kit car driven by Hammond, clearly then the DVLA rules don't apply to Jaguar, since that car had Weber carbs and there's no way a New carbed car is gonna passed emissions regs.??
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I also wondered like the other poster why the Mostly stuffy Jaguar owners club allow Replicas/Kitcars on their stand at Major car shows? Would a Jaguar owner's club member like to explain this to us all?
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I also wondered like the other poster why the Mostly stuffy Jaguar owners club allow Replicas/Kitcars on their stand at Major car shows? Would a Jaguar owner's club member like to explain this to us all?
lowdrag said:
Jaguar have registered one of their new XKSS cars it seems, looking at the Amazon programme.
Not exactly.The story goes, that for Hammond to be able to drive it, Jaguar had to register it as a test vehicle (just as they would for prototype test mules etcs to be able to drive on the road) and he had to be a 'legal' employee of Jaguar.
Which then begs the question as to what happens to that XK-SS now, as generally, test/mule cars have to be declared scrapped destroyed to DVLA afterwards and not sold to the public.........(unless they intend keeping it in their Heritage Collection?)
Edited by aeropilot on Friday 2nd February 15:25
rene7 said:
Still a £100K - Kit car though
[from the photo it looks like a man in a shed type business] 
I suppose if you pay £100K for it - 'replica' sounds better to most people than a 'cheapy' Caterham 7 type Kitcar
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I often wondered why the Jag owners club allow these Kitcars/REPLICA's on their stand at the big shows. At every show I went to last year there was at least 1 'C'type. or 'D' Type or XKSS Kitcars on their stands [Sorry REPLICA'S]
Other owners clubs I've dealt with eg Bentley. Bugatti, Ferrari etc. won't allow kIT'S OR REPLICAS near their stands??
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As mentioned by an earlier poster - there are always a few Kitcar Jags for sale at Stoneleigh Kit Car Show 5-7th may this year
They're referred to as replicas because that's what they are. As are Cobra replicas, Lancia Stratos replicas etc. They may or may not come in kit form. Some of the better examples are very well engineered as I'm sure you know but seem reluctant to accept. [from the photo it looks like a man in a shed type business] I suppose if you pay £100K for it - 'replica' sounds better to most people than a 'cheapy' Caterham 7 type Kitcar
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I often wondered why the Jag owners club allow these Kitcars/REPLICA's on their stand at the big shows. At every show I went to last year there was at least 1 'C'type. or 'D' Type or XKSS Kitcars on their stands [Sorry REPLICA'S]
Other owners clubs I've dealt with eg Bentley. Bugatti, Ferrari etc. won't allow kIT'S OR REPLICAS near their stands??
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As mentioned by an earlier poster - there are always a few Kitcar Jags for sale at Stoneleigh Kit Car Show 5-7th may this year
Kudos to the Jaguar clubs for encouraging Jaguar based replicas and Specials onto their stand and into their clubs. I see it as a positive move. The Bentley owners club also welcome Bentley based Specials, even fibreglass bodied ones, into the fold.
You may not be aware but many Le Mans bodied Bentleys are replicas, and given that many of them are assembled from several "donors" , they may even be kit cars.
There is a more than subtle difference with regard to Ferraris as virtually all the "Replicas" have little or no Ferrari content. Same applies to Bugattis.
I don't get this constant belittling of Replica owners.
Almost none of us can afford a genuine C Type or Cobra. The person who buys or builds as accurate an example as they can afford is to be applauded not sneered at in my opinion.
aeropilot said:
Which then begs the question as to what happens to that XK-SS now, as generally, test/mule cars have to be declared scrapped destroyed to DVLA afterwards and not sold to the public.........(unless they intend keeping it in their Heritage Collection?)
Isn't the normal thing about cutting up test cars to do with tax?Cars aren't really subject to VAT (Value Added Tax) instead they are subject to a special tax also known as VAT but now standing for Vehicle Acquisition Tax which incidentally is always charged at the same rate as it's better known sibling. The differences is that a business can't claim back this sort of VAT hence it's isn't a valued added tax. Anyway, if a development mule is scrapped at the end of the development life it never becomes a "car" for taxation purposes and so can be treated as an expense for taxation purposes. Often a manufacture will spend millions on a development car, if it ever goes on to be used as a regular car then the VAT man want's his 20%, if it's scrapped the company can claim back all the money.
For these XKSS replicas the difference between the costs to Jaguar of making their one and the customers ones will be negligible.
a8hex said:
For these XKSS replicas the difference between the costs to Jaguar of making their one and the customers ones will be negligible.
but in term of image that will be a PR disaster, scraping a car you ask more than a million, i guess the specialised media will jump on it. They surely have a plan with that car and the way to register it (at least i hope for them) where they will sell, or have already sold. S47 said:
I also wondered like the other poster why the Mostly stuffy Jaguar owners club allow Replicas/Kitcars on their stand at Major car shows? Would a Jaguar owner's club member like to explain this to us all?
I've never found the Jaguar club to be at all stuffy. When I first looked at buying a Jag back in the 90s it just so happened that one of the clubs was meeting at the dealer the night I went for a look. They were really friendly and inclusive and I talked with several owners about the XJS I was looking at that night.Move on a dozen years and I joined both the JEC and the JDC, turns out in my area that the JEC is more active and so I didn't stay with the JDC, but we've often had meet up with JDC regions. I got to know the lady chairman of the JEC quite well and she and her husband are both very friendly, I lent her my car for an event I couldn't get to once.
The XK club is also very friendly, but the members tend to be somewhat older.
As to the club allowing replicas on the show stand.
I've never seen a replica on a stand that wasn't made up of mostly Jaguar components, unless you count a C&G engine I suppose. Most people who drive Jaguar replicas are pretty keen on the brand. There is also the problem that cars like C & D types and of course XKSS are so rare that we'd almost never get to see an original now so what's the harm. There are more distantly related Jag'a'likes out there, such as that Far Eastern thing that tried to look like a Mk2 or kits designed to mimic an E-Type on top of some thing else. I've not see one of these at a club meet or a show stand, although there is one for sale in the rag this month.
JNH-809 said:
a8hex said:
For these XKSS replicas the difference between the costs to Jaguar of making their one and the customers ones will be negligible.
but in term of image that will be a PR disaster, scraping a car you ask more than a million, i guess the specialised media will jump on it. They surely have a plan with that car and the way to register it (at least i hope for them) where they will sell, or have already sold. We will have to wait and see what happens with this car, it is possible that it was registered just for the GT program, from a PR point of view that 1 show appearance alone might have been worth all the effort. I think a lot of people in the UK don't appreciate how big the old TG crew were outside the UK, I guess most of that fan base has followed the crew over to GT.
a8hex said:
That might depend on the deal offered to the lucky owners. The plan was to make the 9 missing ones. If they made 9 for customers and 1 development one, then they might be in legal trouble with the people who paid over £1M to have one of just 9 built, of the extra car doesn't disappear at the end of the day..
I'm sure they did that with the previous LWE series - a prototype "car zero" which they kept for themselves, and six customer cars. S47 said:
I also wondered like the other poster why the Mostly stuffy Jaguar owners club allow Replicas/Kitcars on their stand at Major car shows? Would a Jaguar owner's club member like to explain this to us all?
You should have asked them while visiting their stand at the Major shows. Being enthusiasts, freely giving up their time to prepare and attend the stand, they would have explained that Replicas and Specials are welcome in the Jaguar club and even have their own register.
About 5 or 6 years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting in a lovely D Type replica parked at a company I happened to be doing some work at near Redditch. It was a lovely thing and made the most wonderful noise. I seem to remember that it was built around an E Type - would that be correct?
Forgive the grey haired idiot grinning like a Cheshire Cat in the photos...
Forgive the grey haired idiot grinning like a Cheshire Cat in the photos...
TR4man said:
About 5 or 6 years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting in a lovely D Type replica parked at a company I happened to be doing some work at near Redditch. It was a lovely thing and made the most wonderful noise. I seem to remember that it was built around an E Type - would that be correct?
The Lynx ones are & they are now worth OMG 
much.Well, having been deeply involved with Jaguar for over 40 years I can say that I know the full saga about the XKSS in the film. All was explained to me by Jaguar. As regards Lynx cars, I have also been very much involved for over 20 years now. Both of these were mine at the time.
DSC_0864 by Tony Brown, on Flickr
Time moves on, and I content myself with luxuries like a screen and wipers now:-
DSC_9751 by Tony Brown, on Flickr
They are beautifully made cars and as said, Lynx used the mechanicals from an E-type but hand-made the bodies in alloy. The company folded around the turn of the century but is now back and you can buy a new XKSS from them for about £275,000. A real XKSS appeared at auction a year ago had an estimate of up to £16 million so a Lynx is a comparative bargain! The original Lynx cars from the 70s and 80s are collectors pieces and prices start for a D-type at £200,000. I paid a quarter of that for the two above and the XKSS, being one of ten made, is the rarest, one selling for nearly £400,000 at auction a few years back, but it was owned by Nicolas Cage and was immaculate, which mine isn't. I use mine. Prices seem to have stabilised if not fallen a bit since then. My XKSS has 325 bhp by the way, and weighs in at under a ton. Quite quick!
Of the six new lightweight E-types made a couple of years ago by Jaguar, the first of the seven (sic) carries the chassis number zero and is retained by Jaguar and the other six were sold. The same with the XKSS re-run. One of the new lightweights managed to get registered in the USA but the other five, like the nine XKSS models, are track day toys but are now being accepted for racing since so many originals are now too valuable to be raced. Indeed, one of them, 4WPD, has been retired by the owner and is now being put back into completely original condition.
ETA: it is difficult to be sure, but I am pretty certain that the short nose above is not a Lynx. The screen shape doesn't seem quite right for a start. And as regards Caterham, I suppose you could say that they are replica Lotus! Live and let live chaps. Not all of us have a spare £20 million under the bed for a real one, for that is what the Le Mans-winning 1956 D-type sold for. There are so many copies, replicas, kit cars - call them what you will; but they all give us a lot of pleasure. Many Aston DB4s have been shortened 5 inches and become DB4 Zagatos, a number of Bentley saloons are Le Mans replicas, Pur Sang make a lovely Bugatti Type 35B - the list is endless but Jaguar C, D, and XKSS and Cobra replicas are I guess the most numerous.
DSC_0864 by Tony Brown, on FlickrTime moves on, and I content myself with luxuries like a screen and wipers now:-
DSC_9751 by Tony Brown, on FlickrThey are beautifully made cars and as said, Lynx used the mechanicals from an E-type but hand-made the bodies in alloy. The company folded around the turn of the century but is now back and you can buy a new XKSS from them for about £275,000. A real XKSS appeared at auction a year ago had an estimate of up to £16 million so a Lynx is a comparative bargain! The original Lynx cars from the 70s and 80s are collectors pieces and prices start for a D-type at £200,000. I paid a quarter of that for the two above and the XKSS, being one of ten made, is the rarest, one selling for nearly £400,000 at auction a few years back, but it was owned by Nicolas Cage and was immaculate, which mine isn't. I use mine. Prices seem to have stabilised if not fallen a bit since then. My XKSS has 325 bhp by the way, and weighs in at under a ton. Quite quick!
Of the six new lightweight E-types made a couple of years ago by Jaguar, the first of the seven (sic) carries the chassis number zero and is retained by Jaguar and the other six were sold. The same with the XKSS re-run. One of the new lightweights managed to get registered in the USA but the other five, like the nine XKSS models, are track day toys but are now being accepted for racing since so many originals are now too valuable to be raced. Indeed, one of them, 4WPD, has been retired by the owner and is now being put back into completely original condition.
ETA: it is difficult to be sure, but I am pretty certain that the short nose above is not a Lynx. The screen shape doesn't seem quite right for a start. And as regards Caterham, I suppose you could say that they are replica Lotus! Live and let live chaps. Not all of us have a spare £20 million under the bed for a real one, for that is what the Le Mans-winning 1956 D-type sold for. There are so many copies, replicas, kit cars - call them what you will; but they all give us a lot of pleasure. Many Aston DB4s have been shortened 5 inches and become DB4 Zagatos, a number of Bentley saloons are Le Mans replicas, Pur Sang make a lovely Bugatti Type 35B - the list is endless but Jaguar C, D, and XKSS and Cobra replicas are I guess the most numerous.
Edited by lowdrag on Saturday 3rd February 06:16
I have just looked up the D Type replica I sat in on Cazana and it does appear that it was made from an E Type:
"This 1993 JAGUAR 'E' TYPE on numberplate 28SBF was first registered on Wednesday 31st of March 1993 near Worcestershire. At an estimated 17,702 miles, this vehicle has done a lower than average number of miles for its age. It was painted red previously"
I'm assuming from this that it was converted to a D Type in 1993?
I found another photo of it
"This 1993 JAGUAR 'E' TYPE on numberplate 28SBF was first registered on Wednesday 31st of March 1993 near Worcestershire. At an estimated 17,702 miles, this vehicle has done a lower than average number of miles for its age. It was painted red previously"
I'm assuming from this that it was converted to a D Type in 1993?
I found another photo of it
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