Revival Motorsport D-Type

One of the downsides of running the UKTrackdays website is the seemingly endless trawling through trackday listings to ensure our database is as accurate as we can make it. There are benefits though - one of them is the opportunity to drive other people's cars.

This is the first of (we hope) several reviews of road/track cars. There is a growing market for specialist trackday equipment, and we want to show people that there are cars out there which are not Caterhams and Westfields. No offence to either of the aforementioned companies - I suppose it's a reflection of how successful those organisations have been that they are the first cars we tend to think of when it comes to trackday cars.

John Arnold of Revival Motorsport Ltd kindly invited me along to Mallory Park to drive the company's flagship - the Revival Motorsport D Type. This car is based on the original 50s Jaguar D Type, but years of experience with Jaguar competition cars has allowed Revival to produce a lookalike which retains the character of the original but with the durability and handling of a more modern car. A composite body clothes a tubular chassis, with wishbone suspension at each corner, and a 4.2 litre, 300hp straight-six XK engine sits up front. Changes have been made to facilitate ease of maintenance. For instance, the original car's inboard rear brakes have been replaced with outboard items, making pad changes far easier.

The intention is to run these cars in a one-make championship with the emphasis very much on 'arrive and drive' and equal performance. For now these cars will run alongside the Proteus Jaguars. The paddock opinion was that these cars may not have the out-and-out power of some of the other D Type replicas but, being lighter should have the handling and braking advantage. A single race will cost you around £1,700, with a six race package available for £1,300 per race.

I was scheduled to drive the car on a Jaguar's Enthusiast's Club trackday. Motorsport may not be the first thing you think of when you spot an X-Type on the motorway, but Jaguar have a long and distinguished motor racing history and the attendees of this trackday were keeping to this tradition. Almost every car had a number on the door, and almost everyone I spoke to was a racer.

Revival were running half a dozen cars on the day for a variety of prospective customers, and I had my opportunity to drive before the main event in the afternoon. Luckily the weather was dry and bright. I was fully expecting a heavyweight, nose-heavy, tyre-smoking lump, and a slick track was just what I didn't want.

Installation into the car was straightforward. Revival have each car set up for a different driver size and, despite being just a tad under 6ft, I was snugly installed into the car set up for the shortest drivers. This seemed a bit strange because there were shorter drivers than me managing in other cars, so maybe I have very short legs. Never mind. The view from the seat felt a little strange initially - I felt like a German U-boat commander stood on top of the conning tower. I suppose I should have been grateful that we didn't have the Force 8 gale and driving rain to match! A couple of nervous glances behind confirmed that the rollbar was still there.

The seating position is nice and upright (I never could get on with this lying-down-with-your-arms-straight-out lark). The seat is a retro-looking padded semi-bucket thingy, with some hip/thigh support pads velcro'd into place. It actually looks better than I have described it, but I think if I was going to spend most of my time on the track I'd want a more modern race seat. The wheel is big (unless like me you race Legends, in which case it is just the right size), a real retro chrome one with a thin wooden rim. A small alloy gear lever sits on the transmission tunnel, and in front of it is a substantial rev counter. The dash is littered with oil and water gauges, a speedometer and a sprinkling of warning lights, all of which look totally 50s and all of which I completely failed to take notice of!

The engine was not so much started as persuaded to run, a few dabs of throttle being required to coax it into life. The 4.2 litre straight 6 made its presence known at idle but smoothed out as soon as any throttle was applied. Sitting in the assembly area waiting for our track session, I mentally recalibrated my brain - heavy car, lots of power, no driving aids whatsoever. We were now halfway through the trackday and most of the participants are driving pretty hard, so I was not looking forward to wrestling this beast around whilst simultaneously keeping out of everyone else's way. Oh, and I was out in the Fast group too. Two laps later those thoughts had gone completely - I was already feeling at home, my gearchange points were sorted and I was passing everything in sight.

This car is quick. Both straights at Mallory are despatched in no time, the car still lunging forward as it reached the braking zones. My fears of terminal understeer are unfounded. Revival's expertise and experience has produced something which WILL understeer, but not nearly as much as it should do given the big lump of metal under the bonnet. Into the Esses the front end was giving just a hint of push, and the odd surface undulation would push the nose a little wider but a little work on the throttle would bring it back into line. The weight made its presence felt turning into Gerards - you need lots of muscle but at the same time some finesse to turn the car in and hold it through the never-ending right hander. The car moved around a little over the bumps on the entry and the exit but never showed any sign of doing anything unpleasant. The real fun came at the hairpin. Lots of effort was required to get the car turned in, then 2nd gear combined with a heavy right foot resulted in lurid tyre-spinning powerslides - probably not the fastest way through the corner but definitely the most fun! It was then a case of flat-out acceleration through the Devil's elbow, already in 4th gear, gathering speed very rapidly over the start-finish line and under the bridge. As the revs build the engine changes from silky-smooth to angry-buzz, and the noise is full-on Mike Hawthorn.

The only aspect of this car I found disconcerting for a while was the braking. The brakes were far more powerful than I expected, but the car does give a little wiggle as you plant the brake pedal, probably as a result of the caster/camber on the front and the change of torque at the rear. This is not an issue, but as soon as the motor goes onto the overrun it becomes absolutely vibration-free. The nett result is the feeling that you have just locked all your wheels, and it took me a few laps to stop myself glancing at the mirrors, expecting to see clouds of white smoke! In fact, it was only after the test that I realised that I had encountered no brake fade whatsoever.

After two generous track sessions I had made my mind up - this car is FUN. You really do have to drive it rather than aim it - it rewards the right technique but must be treated with respect. The car's out-and-out speed, braking and cornering ability surprised me (and I think it surprised the whale-tailed Porsche, complete with extended wheel-arches, Nordshleife maps and A1 Ring stickers!).

So, would this make a good trackday car? Revival seem to have done a good engineering job too - the five or six cars seemed to be lapping all day with no problems, so this really does seem to be a car you could drive to the track, thrash around and drive home (remember - Revival can produce a road-legal car) with no ill effects. It certainly isn't a budget car - Revival will relieve you of around £40,000 for one - but for your money you get one of the best looking cars of all time with the performance to embarass a lot of modern machinery. Provided it isn't raining you get to drive to and from the circuit in style too.

Thank you to Revival's John Arnold

For more information contact Revival Motorsport Ltd at www.revivalmotorsport.com or 01455 292833.