I posted a photo of me holding a model of the 1952 Jaguar C type in my article on the recent rally, but by sheer chance ws given this photo today and it is of historical importance since none of the cars now exist. One of the chassis exists but reclothed in the traditional bodywork. The story of 1952 is certainly not covered in glory since all the cars retired with overheating problems because of a hasty redesign and bad preparation. The idea was to streamline the already quick C types to gain more top speed on the 2.5 mile Hunaudieres straight, and the work was entrusted to one of the factory design team. Unfortunately the header tank, because of the swooping nose, was placed just in front of the bulkhead and due to insufficient air flow all the cars overheated and boiled over. By sheer unfortunate coincidence, the designer's name was Bob Kettle, hence the cars have become known over the years as the Kettle cars.
This photo, extremely rare and of historical significance, shows the complete team and drivers before the race. I have sent a copy to Jaguar for their records.
