FamouS D-type’S Fate FounD

... XKD 503 in the wake of the Registser

For many years we have searched to find factory prepared D-Type XKD503. We traced it to Lime Rock in the U.S. in September 1958. Then it vanished.

XKD503 was the third customer D-Type, and factory prepared for Le Mans in 1955 and the Belgian team Ecurie Francorchamps - taking third outright (above). It was immediately sold and flown to the U.S. for Ernest Erickson, never came back to the UK, but was always yellow.

In early 1957 it was sold through Briggs Cunningham to Cuban sugar baron Alfonso Gómez Mena (below) who had owned two

D-Types. XKD521 and XKD525 (ex-Cunningham) were destroyed by him. He raced 503 at Sebring in 1957 then changed to Ferrari.

Momo next sold XKD503 to Jaguar dealer Jack Ensley who raced it until 1958 when the trail stopped - until now! Amazingly, our editor finally found a newspaper clipping from the Linton Daily Citizen dated September 12, 1957. It said a Jaguar race car owned by sportscar pilot Jack Ensley burned up on its tow truck at Noblesville. The truck driver was affected and the truck destroyed.

It added the car was being returned from Lime Rock - so the mystery ends.

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