The Jaguar C-Type introduced in 1951 on the XK120 chassis displays an aerodynamic elegance well ahead of its time. One of them won the 24 hours of Le Mans in the very first year. It was one of the favorite models of Stirling Moss.
On November 18, 2015, a press release by Bonhams announced that a 1952 C-Type with XKC-011 chassis number, driven by Stirling Moss among others for the works team of the brand, will be one of the stars of their sale on May 13, 2016 in Monaco. The release also announced that the car had been lent in 1954 by Jaguar to the Belgian private team Ecurie Francorchamps.
Everything is great excepted that a previous owner had observed in 1963 that its bodywork was tagged with the number K1047 associated in principle with the XKC-047 chassis released from factory in 1953. The assumption of a swap of the bodies could explain this oddity. It comes to the credit of Bonhams to have pushed further the investigation.
The XKC-011 carving on the chassis is authentic and without falsification. This car is in an original condition close to perfect. The known history of the two frames shows that the gearbox fitted to the car for sale is not compatible with the XKC-011 driven by Moss.
In 1954, for rewarding the good results of the Belgian team, Jaguar had agreed to transfer to them the ownership of the XKC-011 which previously had only been loaned, for the purpose of a sale to be realized immediately. The Ecurie Francorchamps restitutes to Jaguar their XKC-047 which is now prepared to be sold on the following year to Dunlop for tyre testing. Jaguar probably observed at that time that the chassis was not serialized. They mark the XKC-047 with the XKC-011 number whose history in competition was slightly more prestigious.
The C-Type offered for sale was never driven by Moss but it remains one of the most authentic examples of this remarkable model. Only some minor changes have been made over time to maintain its road certification. This stunning car is reasonably estimated at € 4M, lot 114.
SOLD for € 7.2M including premium
The world's finest long-term preserved #Jaguar C-Type is offered in next week's #MonacoSale: https://t.co/Qa0TZzqmWK pic.twitter.com/0zkpxAYVOt
— BONHAMS (@bonhams1793) May 5, 2016