The Office Series � 1955 Jaguar D-Type

Not long after the Second World War, the Jaguar car company decided that they needed to promote themselves with an attention-getting product.

Pen & ink, watercolour pencil on white archival stock
� Paul Chenard 2009

Needless to say, they shook the automotive world by introducing the powerful and sleek XK-120 sports car. Powered by a straight-6 and clothed in a stunning sleek and low body, its performance matched its looks and orders flooded in.

A clocked speed of at least 120 mph suggested that it had potential as racing car, so Jaguar created a lighter, more streamlined of the car, calling it an XK-120-C, or C-Type.The racer won the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans for 1951 and 1953.

To build on their success, Jaguar created an all-new racer for 1954, and christened it the D-Type. As a factory-built racer, it introduced the strong yet lightweight monocoque chassis. Designed by Malcolm Sayer, it sported a gorgeous aerodynamic body, producing minimal drag. It was powered by a modified XK straight-six engine, and sported disk brakes all around.

The first of it's 3 Le Mans wins came in 1955, under very sad circumstances, when Pierre Levegh�s Mercerdes SLR lost control and crashed, killing him and 80 spectators. Mike Hawthorn was the winning D-type�s driver, along with Ivor Bueb.



Pen & ink, watercolour pencil and Prismacolor on white archival stock
� Paul Chenard 2009

The D-type won again in 1956, under �curie-�cosse Team management, with Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson driving, and again in 1957, with again Flockhart, this time teamed up with Ivor Bueb.

By 1958, the D-type was no longer competitive, so the remaining cars were converted to road-specification as the XKSS.

The Office Series � 1957 Ferrari 250 TR Scaglietti Testa Rosa

Pencil and markers on white archival Canson stock
� Paul Chenard 2009

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rosa is a famous racer that helped propagate the Ferrari legend. The name comes from the Italian words for �red head�, reflecting its 12-cylinder engine�s red-painted cam covers.

The Testa Rosa were produced from 1956 to 1961. They were bodied by various carrozzerias, including Pininfarina and Touring.

Scaglietti created the famous �pontoon� fendered 250TR (Testa Rosas). 22 of these beautiful cars were built in the years 1957�58.

A few years ago, I wanted to create a unique clock, based on the 1957 Testa Rosa dash instruments. I bought a new retro-looking clock, took it apart and repainted the case and hands. I recreated the clock-face using the TR tachometer aesthetics, printed it out and covered the old face. Here is the result, which hangs on the wall of our computer room.








Sports Car Market reports that RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby�s, announced that it will be auctioning off one of these stunning Testa Rosa�s, chassis no. 0714TR, during their May 17, 2009 auction. You can read more about it here.