British Bulldog

James Duncan Hamilton was the epitome of the 1950s racing driver, fast and full of joie de vivre. A fighter pilot during the second World War, Hamilton joined the Jaguar factory team in 1952 and successfully drove both C-types and D-types. In 1953, teamed with Tony Rolt, Hamilton won the Le Mans 24 hours race in a C-type and almost repeated the feat the following year, finishing a close 2nd in the brand new D-type. After winning the Reims 12-hours race in a works D-type in 1956, poor Duncan was sacked by team manager “Lofty” England for disobeying team orders to “maintain position.” When the Jaguar factory retired from racing at the end of 1956 Hamilton purchased one of the long-nose works D-types (XKD 601) and raced it with his usual verve registered as 2 CPG. Part bon vivant, part hell-raiser, Duncan Hamilton was a true “British Bulldog.”