For 1954 Lofty England decided that Jaguar had taken the C-Type as far is they could, and a new car was designed around the successful XK engine. Appropriately, the iconic D-Type made its debut at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans race, where Hamilton and Rolt were beaten into second place by only one lap, by the Ferrari 375 of Formula One stars José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant. The event was poised to be a direct contest between England's Jaguars, and the Mercedes team of Alfred Neubauer. Tragically, an accident triggered by the D-Type of Mike Hawthorn caused the deaths of Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators, plus injuring 120 others. Neubauer's team were withdrawn from the race some hours later and invited Jaguar to share the gesture, but England decided to keep the Jaguars running.
