Originally conceived as a “run out special” — or a car manufacturers produce at the end of a model’s natural life to try and extend interest for as long as possible — the Jaguar XK SS was built as a revamped version of the iconic D-type racer, as well as a way for the British marque to rid itself of the 25 chassis it had built, but remained unsold. As such, only 16 examples of the car were ever built, one of which recently fell into the hands of East Sussex historics specialist CKL Developments.

An expert in restoring Jaguars from the ‘50s and ‘60s — my favorite era in the marque’s history — CKL customized the car to a specification inspired by Steve McQueen’s own XKSS, which included no side windows, no luggage rack and a furled tonneau cover slung across the body behind the rear seats. This gorgeous version of the XKSS was lent out by the owner and recently showcased at Goodwood, where the festival’s regular contributor Andrew Frankel took a turn behind the wheel, both on the Circuit and up the hill. Titled “Firing on…”, the resulting video is previewed in the short clip seen here.