From the TG archive

THE DISASTROUS AFTERMATH OF THE BROWNS LANE FIRE IS LEGEND. AS IS THE RECOVERY

n 1956, things were going swimmingly for Jaguar. The C-types and D-types had dominated Le Mans since 1951, and in 1956 a D-type won the 24hrs and a MkVII saloon won the Monte Carlo Rally. Jaguar’s Mk1 was among the most sporting saloons anywhere, and the MkVIII sat near the pinnacle of luxury. The XK sports cars were among the proper supercars of the era.

Then one night in February 1957, a fire broke out in the Jaguar factory. Oil, tyres and car upholstery burn well; sheet aluminium is no barrier. But the fire brigade was soon all over the scene, and miraculously no one died. Still, dozens of cars were destroyed, along with production machinery and huge stocks of components. Damage was put at £3 million, a vast loss in 1957 money – three times the amount the firm had just invested in developing its first monocoque saloon, the Mk1.

The following morning, the line workers piled into the devastation. They hauled dozens of charred and gutted cars out from underneath the collapsed factory roof and set about a mammoth clearing-up operation. Several scrap dealers sensed an opportunity and jammed the switchboard with offers for the wrecks, but Jaguar insisted everything was melted down rather than see damaged stock getting onto the parts market.

The Mk1 2.4-litre saloon was about to get a new 3.4-litre version, the fastest saloon in the world. But pretty well the entire launch stock for the American dealers was ruined. So too were nine of only 25 XKSS ever made. This was the road-going version of the D-type, a true hypercar of its day. Production of that one was never restarted. Sob.

Two weeks after the fire, and against all expectations, cars again began rolling out of the gates. Initial running rate was about a third of normal, but before long they’d ramped back up to full speed. The cat had definitely used up one of its nine lives.

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