Rewind to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1954. British racing great Stirling Moss is behind the wheel of Jaguar’s groundbreaking new D-Type and leading the race. Entering the 3.7-mile Mulsanne Straight, his foot goes flat to the floor. By the end of the straight, he’d recorded a top speed of 172.97 mph, a new Le Mans record at the time.
The D-Type that Moss was piloting, dressed in British Racing Green, was chassis No. XKD 403, better known by its “OKV 2” license plate. Fast forward 71 years and this legendary Jaguar is crossing the auction block at Broad Arrow ‘s Amelia Island sale, in Florida, on March 8. The auction house’s estimated value for the car is $6.5 million to $8.5 million, yet it’s being offered with no reserve.
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“Not only did it compete at Le Mans, but it was also campaigned in top-level European races every year between 1954 and 1958, making it quite possibly the most-raced Works Jaguar D-Type ever,” explains Jakob Greisen, senior car specialist at Broad Arrow Auctions. “Here is a car that straddles the line between race and road car perhaps better than any other. Drive it to the track, race it, and drive back home,” he adds.
In fact, that happened with this example. En route to the 1955 Portuguese Grand Prix, the Jaguar transporter broke down. Tools and spare parts were loaded into the D-Type and the car was driven the 980 miles to the race, where it finished fifth. It was then driven the 980 miles back.
“Today, I can’t think of a better car to enjoy on such high-profile road rallies like the Mille Miglia retrospective or California Mille. It still captures the true golden age of Jaguar racing,” says Greisen.
Built specifically to compete at Le Mans in 1954, the D-Type revolutionized sports-car design with its aircraft-inspired construction, which features riveted, lightweight aluminum and slippery aerodynamics—all aided by that towering tail fin. In the lead-up to the key 1955 racing season, “OKV 2” became the factory development workhorse for that year’s Le Mans effort. To prepare drivers for the race, the car was driven by some of the sport’s most revered pilots of the day, such as Mike Hawthorn, Tony Rolt, Ken Wharton, and Duncan Hamilton.
With the introduction of the long-nose D-Type in 1955, the short-nose “OKV 2” was sold to race team Ecurie Broadhead for Jaguar’s public relations chief Bob Berry to compete in. Over the next two years, with full support from Jaguar’s racing division, the car was fiercely campaigned, taking a number of wins and second-place finishes, including victory at the British Empire Trophy Race in 1957.
In 1960, the car changed hands and moved across the Atlantic after being sold to Gerry Crozier of Canada. A tragic accident in 1963, however, saw the car mothballed for 17 years. Then, in 1980, the wreck was bought by British Jaguar specialists Lynx Engineering, where it got a full restoration.
Th vehicle was subsequently acquired by top D-Type expert and historian Terry Larson in 1999. During Arizona-based Larson’s decade of ownership, he added 20,000 miles to the odometer. His exploits included outings at the Goodwood Revival, Colorado Grand, Copperstate 1000, and Monterey Historic Races, where he famously reunited the car with Jaguar chief test driver and D-Type development chief Norman Dewis. Larson also amassed a treasure trove of original factory documents, letters, technical specs, and period photography covering the car’s long racing history.
Eventually, Larson traded the car for a Jaguar XKSS in 2009, with well-known Nevada collector Dean Meiling adding this particular D-Type to his stable. In addition to taking part in various rallies, he took the car back to Le Mans in 2012 for that year’s Le Mans Classic races. In 2018, Meiling put “OKV 2” up for auction at RM Sotheby’s Scottsdale sale, where its estimated value ranged from $12 million to $15 million. It failed to meet reserve, though, after a high bid of $9.8 million. In March he’ll try again.
“The car is going to Amelia to sell,” says Greisen. “Being offered with no reserve means the last bid will get this historic car.” He adds that the current high-end estimate of $8.5 million is a realistic reflection of today’s softening market. And it looks to be quite the deal when compared to the 1956 Le Mans–winning D-Type that fetched $21.78 million at RM Sotheby’s 2016 Pebble Beach auction.
Click here for more photos of this 1954 Jaguar D-Type.
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