Description
Kelham Hall | Newark, Nottinghamshire
Viewing: Tues 22nd September 2026 from 12pm
Auction: Weds 23rd September 2026 12pm
Location: Kelham Hall Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5QX
Registration No: 735 EXW
Chassis No: 207927DN / 12700
MOT: Exempt
Constructed in 1989/ 90 with an LR Roadsters Ram LM body/ chassis kit
Understood to have an XK 4. 5 litre engine prepared by the Forward Engineering Company Ltd
Gas-flowed ports, 1⅞” inlet valves, 45DCOE Weber carburettors and WAD camshafts
Registered as 1962 Jaguar 3. 8 coupe with an engine capacity of 4200cc
Believed to have an output of around 300 bhp
‘This 190mph technical masterpiece, designed, built and prepared totally within Jaguar, was to achieve a hat-trick of spectacular Le Mans victories in the 1950s.’ – Paul Skilleter, Jaguar: The Sporting Heritage.
Jaguar’s multiple Le Mans wins in the 1950s – twice with the C-Type and three times with its D-Type successor – as well as numerous victories in the other great classic endurance events, have ensured a continuing healthy demand for copies of these rare and exotic works sports-racers. Constructed in 1989/ 90, this example uses an LR Roadsters Ram LM body/ chassis kit, Jaguar XK engine and manual/ overdrive gearbox. Constructed around a tubular-steel backbone spaceframe chassis, the kit comprised steel-braced glassfibre bodywork in long nose trim with full-width windscreen first seen on the works Le Mans cars in 1955. Based almost exclusively on Jaguar running gear, unlike some of its rivals, the Ram LM was described by Kit Cars & Specials magazine as having ‘undisputed mechanical integrity,’ and ‘one of the most desirable replicas we have yet laid our hands on.’ The factory claimed 0-60mph in approximately 5. 9 seconds and a maximum speed in overdrive top approaching 150mph.
‘735 EXW’ is powered by an XK unit prepared by the Forward Engineering Company Ltd of Meriden, Coventry. Dated November 1989 and addressed to then owner, Paul Blair, an accompanying specification sheet states that the engine would be enlarged to 4. 5-litres incorporating gas-flowed ports, 1⅞” inlet valves, 45DCOE Weber carburettors, WAD camshafts, heavy-duty valve springs, heavy-duty ***-rods and Tuftrided crankshaft, the reciprocating components being balanced to zero. A maximum output of 300bhp at 5, 500rpm was estimated. Paul Blair had bought the D-Type as a rolling chassis in 1989 and various invoices relating to its construction are on file. Delivery was planned during January 1990.
Purchased by a previous owner from Central Car Sales in 1996 for £16, 250, it is registered as a 1962 Jaguar 3. 8 coupe with an engine capacity of 4200cc.
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Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people)
