Le Mans-winning D-Type goes up for Auction!

Today RMSotheby’s are anouncing the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning D-Type chassis XKD501 for their upcoming Auction in Monterey.

They call this “Unequivocally one of the most important and valuable Jaguars in the world”

XKD501 was the first customer D-Type delivered to Ecurie Ecosse, the Scotland stable founded by David Murray and known for their Scottish Flag Metallic Blue Jaguars.

Against three long-nose D-Types entered by the Jaguar factory, Ecurie Ecosse used XKD501 with factory support at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Driver’s Ninian Sanderson and Ron Flockhart took overall honors at the 1956 Le Mans race ahead of the chasing Aston Martin DB3S.

RM describe the car: “Now offered from only its third private owner, XKD 501 checks all the proverbial boxes. It has won the most grueling contest in sports car racing, the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and is a centrifugal component of Jaguar’s three consecutive wins at Sarthe. The Jaguar has been fastidiously maintained and serviced by just four caretakers, including a restoration by some of the world’s most knowledgeable experts. Almost unique among a run of automobiles that inevitably led hard lives, its history is refreshingly clean, concise, and incredibly well-known.”

UPDATE: Sold for $21,780,000 – the highest price ever achieved for a British automobile at auction.

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