Photo: RM Sotheby's
A less informed person catching a glimpse of this 1955 Jaguar D-Type might mistake it for a slightly weirder Ferrari. It has the same swoopy lines as the 250 GTO, the same oval grille, and a similar overall shape, so it's an honest mistake.
Have it painted in British Racing Green, though, the color most of the era's Jaguar D-Types sported, and it's an entirely different story. All of a sudden, its resemblance with the C-Type before it and E-Type after starts to emerge, and you know you're looking at one of the most emblematic British race cars.
The D-Type brought a series of dramatic improvements over the C-Type, ensuing the latter's legacy of winning races would be continued. The low hood and the asymmetric tailfin are two features that catch the eye, yet it's what we can't really see that allowed the D-Type to become a legend both in motorsport and in the automotive world as a whole.
The model uses a 3.4-liter straight-six XK-type dual-overhead camshaft with triple Weber carburetors for an original power output of 245 hp. Thanks to a dry-sump configuration and a slightly canted orientation, the height of the engine was reduced, enabling the now-emblematic lowered hood but also improving the vehicle's performance by dropping the center of mass.
This particular D-Type that RM Sotheby's will auction on January 21-22 was first delivered to Manchester's Henlys in 1955. One of very few to be finished in this bright red color (they say no more than two or three in total as there weren't that many D-Types to begin with), chassis number XKD 518 failed to sell.
A man called Bernie Ecclestone picked it up and sold it as new to driver Peter Blond, who immediately began to race it. From here until 2008, the red D-Type exchanged a large number of owners, but every transaction - like the vehicle's entire history - is well documented and accounted for. There are no gaps in its list of ownership, with the current owner buying the car 12 years ago - a record period for a vehicle that changed hands extremely often.
The specialists at RM Sotheby's think the car should sell for anything between $5.7 and $7.5 million and given both the vehicle's past and its current appearance, it's hard to imagine why that wouldn't happen. On the other hand, the same car went on auction in 2018 with an estimate of up to $12 million, so it has happened before. Hopefully, the lower asking price should convince somebody to raise their hand and add their name to the long list of this Jaguar D-Type's owners.
The D-Type brought a series of dramatic improvements over the C-Type, ensuing the latter's legacy of winning races would be continued. The low hood and the asymmetric tailfin are two features that catch the eye, yet it's what we can't really see that allowed the D-Type to become a legend both in motorsport and in the automotive world as a whole.
The model uses a 3.4-liter straight-six XK-type dual-overhead camshaft with triple Weber carburetors for an original power output of 245 hp. Thanks to a dry-sump configuration and a slightly canted orientation, the height of the engine was reduced, enabling the now-emblematic lowered hood but also improving the vehicle's performance by dropping the center of mass.
This particular D-Type that RM Sotheby's will auction on January 21-22 was first delivered to Manchester's Henlys in 1955. One of very few to be finished in this bright red color (they say no more than two or three in total as there weren't that many D-Types to begin with), chassis number XKD 518 failed to sell.
A man called Bernie Ecclestone picked it up and sold it as new to driver Peter Blond, who immediately began to race it. From here until 2008, the red D-Type exchanged a large number of owners, but every transaction - like the vehicle's entire history - is well documented and accounted for. There are no gaps in its list of ownership, with the current owner buying the car 12 years ago - a record period for a vehicle that changed hands extremely often.
The specialists at RM Sotheby's think the car should sell for anything between $5.7 and $7.5 million and given both the vehicle's past and its current appearance, it's hard to imagine why that wouldn't happen. On the other hand, the same car went on auction in 2018 with an estimate of up to $12 million, so it has happened before. Hopefully, the lower asking price should convince somebody to raise their hand and add their name to the long list of this Jaguar D-Type's owners.
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