It’s an opportunity that may come just once in a lifetime – the chance to buy one of the original 12 Lightweight E-types at public auction – and this example is one of the finest available.
The 10th car built by the factory is due to go under the hammer at Bonhams’ Scottsdale sale, which takes place on 19 January 2017. The price? $7,500,000-8,500,000 (£5,929,000-6,720,000).
The multi-million pound estimate reflects not just the car’s rarity, but also its incurable condition and provenance. Bob Jane raced the car to victory in the 1963 Australian GT Championship, and for the most part it remains in the same condition, boasting its original paint and nearly untouched interior.
In total, the car has passed through the hands of just three owners, the most recent of whom acquired the Jaguar in 1999. It spent the next 17 years in his private collection where it lived a cosseted existence, its odometer not even rolling past 4000 miles.
“It’s an honour to represent such an original and genuine example of these epic and legendary cars,” said Jakob Greisen, Bonhams’ head of US motoring. “Not only is this an incredible car by any measure, it’s also the first time a Lightweight E-type has been offered in the US for more than 17 years.”
