At RM Sotheby’s Arizona auction on January 28-29, an exceptionally rare 1956 Jaguar D-Type Works ‘Long Nose’ is set to be sold. One of just six examples in the world, the car is considered as a true icon in the classic car scene. Unfortunately, no pre-auction estimates have been released just yet.
The Jaguar D-Type Works ‘Long Nose’ in question is chassis XKD 604 and was built for the 1956 racing season. The car celebrated its competitive debut at the Daily Express Silverstone racing event in May 1956 with Desmond Titterington behind the wheel. While Jaguar’s experimental department had tested fuel-injection when developing the D-Type Works ‘Long Nose’, it raced with a more conventional engine with Weber carburetors.
At the end of the 1956 season, it was purchased by Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse who stored the car until the team shut up shop in 1971. It was then acquired by Jim Tester before passing through the hands of Michael Fisher from the U.K who had it restored to fuel-injection specification in 1986. Following importation into the United States in 1992, it was purchased by the current owner in 2004.
Recently, the car has been displayed at the 2011 Monterey Motorsports Reunion and 2012 Dana Point Concours d’Elegance.
