The stunningly proportioned D-Type had taken the chequered flag in the gruelling 24 hour race in 1956.
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In 1956 the auto got a full width windscreen and updated engine, and ran to a stunning win at Le Mans, beating a Stirling Moss Aston Martin in to second place and taking Jaguar honours despite factory D-Types in the race.
And it wasn’t even a Jaguar works auto – the D-Type was driven by Ninian Sanderson and Ron Flockhart, who were members of the Edinburgh-based Ecurie Ecosse race team.
Back in 1956, this Jaguar D-Type, the model that pioneered the monocoque chassis design that is used by most automobiles on the market today, completed 2,507.19 miles at Le Mans with an average speed of 104.47 miles per hour (167 km/h). That’s because the auto was retired just one year later and has had only three private owners since Ecurie Ecosse sold it.
It beat the previous best for a British auto, which was £9.5 million paid for an Aston Martin past year. One of the most highly anticipated lots of this year’s Monterey auction week, the original Shelby Cobra was constructed and kept from new by Carroll Shelby and never left his care.
Ian Kelleher, from RM Sotheby’s, said: “Tonight’s record for any British auto, American vehicle, and for a Ferrari 750 Monza demonstrate that collectors remain prepared to part with significant sums to secure the rarest fresh-to-the-market automobiles”. The 1956 Le Mans-winning D-Type, widely recognized as the most important Jaguar ever made, was the subject of a 15-minute bidding contest among four determined collectors before reaching its final price, comfortably surpassing its $20 million low estimate.
Power in the D-Type comes from a 3.4-liter inline-6 good for about 245 horsepower.
The previous record for a Jaguar was the $13.2 million paid for a 1953 C-Type at RM’s Monterey auction a year ago.
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The Scottish team hit a top speed of 156mph down the Mulsanne Straight. That vehicle only finished fourth at Le Mans.
