Jaguar D-Type to become Australia’s most expensive car at Motorclassica Auction

The 1955 Jaguar D-Type will be auctioned by Mossgreen and is expected to be sold with a price-tag of between $7-8 million.

Chassis number XKD510 is the only genuine D-Type in the country, and has a long history of traveling the world with numerous owners.

Former Le Mans 24-hour winner, Duncan Hamilton, bought the car with just 405-kilometres on the odometer. It won Le Mans in 1955 and 1956, and had podium finishes in 1957, before being shipped to Singapore, and then arriving in Australia in the late '60s.

The car was worse for wear after many crashes but was restored to its former glory in 1975 by Jaguar collector, Ian Cummins.

After the rebuild, Australian championship driver, Bib Stillwell bought it for a then world record price in 1982. Stillwell moved to America where he raced it for a short period, before selling it in the US to the owner of Aston Martin.

Cummins then brought it back again into Australia and sold it, where it did some local historic racing. It briefly was displayed in a UK museum before making the trip back here, where it will be auctioned off this weekend.

“The Jaguar D-Type is one of the world’s most significant and collectible marques, and we are thrilled and excited to have this exceptional and historic car consigned to our inaugural Motorclassica Auction,” Mossgreen CEO Paul Sumner said.

“Along with impeccable provenance and competition history, the D-type is gorgeous, an absolute work of art, a sculpture on wheels, one of the most beautiful cars ever made," Sumner said.

Other Jaguar D-Types sold at auction in the past, include a Le Mans-winning example selling for US$21.78 million ($27.78 million) in 2016 and two years prior, another sold for US $5m.

Before Saturday's Motorclassica auction, a $920,000 Holden Monaro HRT 427 set the record for the most valuable car sold in Australia.

Motorclassica is Australasia’s premier event for vintage, classic and exotic vehicles, and is held this weekend at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.

MORE: Jaguar D-Type coverage
MORE: Motorclassica coverage
MORE: Jaguar news, reviews, videos and comparisons