1956 Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Type sells for WORLD record $21.78 million

The Jaguar D-Type which won the 1956 Le Mans in the hands of Ecurie Ecosse has sold for a world record $21.78 million at RM’s Monterey auction.

The first Jaguar D-Type to be sold in to private hands – chassis XKD 501 – has become the most expensive British car ever sold, reaching $21,78 million ($19.8m plus costs) at R M Sotheby’s Monterey auction this weekend, just a smidge off its pre-auction estimate of £20m, but hugely more than the previous Brit car record of $14.3m for an Aston Martin DB4 Zagato.

The car was originally sold to Ecurie Ecosse – hence the Scottish Blue paint job – in May 1955 and initially driven by Jackie Stewart’s brother Jimmy, who managed to crash it twice, necessitating a factory return for repairs.

In 1956 the car 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.

After its adventures with Ecurie Ecosse, XKD 501 went financier Major Thomson of Peebles in 1957, passed on to Sir Michael Nairn in 1970 – at which point it gained a sympathetic restoration – and in 199 left for the States, where it’s been ever since in the same hands. Until now.

We don’t yet know who bought XKD 501, so it could be going anywhere in the world. If it’s coming home, we’ll update here.