Rare 1963 E-Type Jaguar – one of just 12 built lighter to beat Ferraris on the track – predicted to sell for £6 MILLION
Legendary model has been hidden away for much of the past half century following Australian GT triumph
A RARE Jaguar expected to fetch £6 million at auction is on course to become one of the most expensive British cars ever.
The 1963 E-Type is one of just 12 of the firm’s legendary Lightweight Competition models that were designed to take on Ferraris on the race track.
This particular model - the tenth of the dozen - has just 4,000 miles on the clock and triumphed at the 1963 Australian GT Championships.
It’s been hidden away for much of the subsequent 53 years before becoming part of a private collection in the USA in 1999.
It is powered by a 3.8-litre engine developing more than 300bhp - giving it a 0-60mph time of six seconds and a top speed of more than 150mph.
Jaguar originally planned to build 18 Lightweight E-Types, but just 12 ended up leaving the production line. It is thought only 11 remain in existence.
However, in 2014 the Midlands company announced it had made the unusual decision to build the remaining six 'lost' Lightweight models to the exact specification of the 1963/64 models.
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All six were quickly sold at a cost of more than £1 million each but an original Lightweight is considerably more expensive.
This model, known as S850667, will be sold by Bonhams in January at its Scottsdale auction in Arizona in the USA.
The auction house has given it a guide price of $7.5m- £8.5m (£6m - £6.7m).
This will make it one of the most expensive British cars ever sold publicly.
Jakob Greisen, Bonhams' Head of US Motoring, said: "It's an honour to represent such an original and genuine example of these epic and legendary cars."
The Lightweight E-Types were known in period as GTO killers because they were faster on most tracks than the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO.
As some of the most successful and iconic sports-racing cars ever produced, they are among Britain's most celebrated cars and rarely, if ever, come up for sale.
Bonhams added: "This car is, without question, one of the best, most original examples of the Factory Lightweights in existence.
Factfile: 1963 E-Type Jaguar - Lightweight Competition model
Top speed - 150mph
0 - 60 mph - six seconds
Power - 300bhp
Guide price - £6million
"Its condition is incredibly noteworthy with original finish visible in most areas, including almost all the interior.
"To have a competition car, and a championship winner at that, in such original condition is unheard of today."
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