RM Auctions have been selling cars in the French capital this week. Their headline sale was a truly wonderful 1955 Jaguar D-Type, part of the Harburg Collection, which sold for €3,696,000. The sale establishes a new world record for a Jaguar D-Type at auction. As a collector car, the Jaguar D-Type has become increasingly popular!
The car was Chassis XKD 520, which boasts an extensive racing history. It was the seventh production D-type made and was sold new to Australian, Bob Stillwell, who raced the car with great success in the 1956 and 1957 seasons, including the 1956 Bathurst 500. The car first raced at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it was piloted to a 2nd overall finish.
Under the bonnet sits a 3.8 litre inline six-cylinder engine with three Weber 36 DC03 carburettors, a four-speed manual gear box and disc brakes for all four wheels. Power is rated at approximately 300 bhp and the car features independent front suspension and a live rear axle with trailing links and transverse torsion bar.
Initially, this car was fitted with the C-Type’s long-running 3.4-litre XK competition engine. It was only in November 1958 when the car was sold to David Finch, that it received a factory-supplied 3.8-litre engine.
Elsewhere, a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider secured a €1.96 million, a 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera S sold for €1.288 million and a 1982 Porsche 956 Group C Sports-Prototype which sold for €2.352 million. Perhaps the most shocking result was the 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Six-Door Pullman Landaulet which sold for €537,600. Its pre-sale estimate was just €80,000-€120,000!
