• This British Racing Green Jaguar F-Type competed for five consecutive years across Europe.
  • The most expensive D-Type ever sold fetched over $21 million in 2016.
  • The iconic Jaguar has been part of a private collection in the US for the past 16 years.

Classic racing cars don’t get much more iconic or as gorgeous as the Jaguar D-Type, and in early March, one of the most revered D-Types is heading to auction. It may sell for between $6.5 million and $8.5 million, potentially making it one of the most expensive D-Types ever sold at a public auction.

This Jaguar D-Type was one of the first three examples built and brought to the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans as a backup. However, it ended up competing and was driven by Sir Stirling Moss and Peter Walker who set the fastest time in practice. The car, known as OKV 2, led parts of the grueling endurance race but had to be retired because of brake issues.

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After this disappointing result, the car raced at the 12 Hours of Reims by Moss and Walker but again, failed to finish. It competed in several other races in 1954, before it was sold and raced by Jaguar’s then-PR manager. It continued to be raced throughout 1955, including at the Grande Premi de Portugal and for races in Aintree, Goodwood, and Oulton Park. Jaguar also fielded the car in several races during 1956, 1957, and 1958, meaning this D-Type may have the richest racing experience of any Jaguar from the era.

 Sir Stirling Moss Drove This 1954 Jaguar D-Type At Le Mans
Broad Arrow Auctions

It was sold in 1960 and ultimately landed in the hands of Jim Catto. During the Player’s 200 event at Mosport Park that year, it was crashed by British driver Alistair Cameron-Smith and rolled, killing him. For 15 years, the D-Type sat with extensive damage, and it wasn’t until the late 1970s that a restoration started. In the 1990s, it was driven in several classic racing events, including the Goodwood Revival, before landing in the hands of a US collector in 2010 who kept it to this day.

The most expensive Jaguar D-Type ever sold was the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans winning car with Ecurie Ecosse behind the wheel. It sold for a staggering $21.78 million in 2016. While this D-Type from Broad Arrow Auctions won’t fetch anywhere near that much, it remains an extraordinarily special car.

Broad Arrow Auctions