Rare £15 MILLION 1961 Aston Martin crashed by racing legend Jim Clark is set to become the most expensive British car sold in Europe
- The 1961 Aston Martin is described as 'the most important DB4GT Zagato in history'
- It's 1 of 2 'works' cars and 1 of 19 DB4GT Zagatos made. It was raced by F1 champ Jim Clark in 1961 and 1962
- Clark famously crashed the car at Goodwood in 1962, colliding with John Surtees in a Ferrari 250 GTO
- It is estimated to sell for up to £15 million, which will make it the most expensive British car sold in Europe
- The rare racer will be auctioned at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 13 July
This 1961 Aston Martin is set to become the most expensive British car to sell in Europe when it goes under the hammer this summer - as it is expected to fetch as much as £15 million.
It's a DB4GT Zagato bathed in racing pedigree, driven - and crashed - by two-time Formula One World Champion Jim Clark and meticulously retained under single-family ownership for the last 47 years.
Described as 'the most important DB4GT Zagato in history', it will sold at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 13 July.
Bonhams estimates that this super-rate 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato will sell for more than £10 million at auction, though experts have priced it closer to £15 million
The auction house, which specialises in super-rare and ultra-exotic road cars and race machinery, said it is 'the most celebrated of all the Newport Pagnell marque's early 1960s Grand Touring cars, and arguably the most important of all designer and coachbuilder Carrozzeria Zagato’s creations'.
In order to become the most expensive British car sold in Europe it needs to exceed the £5,041,500 paid for a 1929 4.5-litre supercharged Bentley 'Blower' - also sold at a Bonhams auction at Goodwood - in 2012.
The most expensive British car sold globally is the 1956 Aston Martin DBR1, which achieved a staggering £17.5 million in Monterrey, California last year.
A Bonhams spokesperson said the Zagato would achieve more than £10 million when it goes in front of collectors in July. However, other experts have valued it closer to £15 million, which brings it within touching distance of DBR1.
So why is it this particular Zagato held in such high regard?
According to Aston Martin's records, it's one of two quasi-works cars - both of which were registered VEV, with this one being '2 VEV' - and one of only three ever to be made to a lightweight specification designed purely to dominate on the track.
Throw into the mix that it was also driven by one of the most iconic British racing superstars of all time, Jim Clark, and you begin to understand why it will command a price tag exceeding eight figures.
In it's heyday between 1961 and 1962 it competed in the GT World Championship against Ferrari's equally desirable 250 GT SWB and 250 GTO Berlinettas - vehicles that are also currently demanding multi-million-pound fees when made available to car collectors at auction.
Just 19 of Aston Martin DB4GT Zagatos were ever built, though none with as much racing heritage as this one
The Aston Martin has been described as 'the most important DB4GT Zagato in history
Clark and 2 VEV were involved in a collision with race leader John Surtees driving a Ferrari 250 GTO in the 1962 RAC Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood
It is one of just 19 DB4GT Zagatos ever made and was piloted by Clark in the RAC Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood - the place where it will return to when it goes under the hammer later this year.
Clark finished fourth behind team mate Roy Salvadori in the sister car - ‘1 VEV’ - in the 1961 race, but was involved in a multi-car pile-up when he returned the year after.
Just after re-joining the race following a pit stop in the 1962 race, Clark spun at Madgwick Corner in the path of race leader John Surtees’s Ferrari 250 GTO.
Bonhams announced the availability of the unique car during the Salon Retromobile classic vehicle event in Paris on Thursday
The car is one of two factory models created by Aston Martin - the other adorned with the plate '1 VEV'
Aston Martin already holds the record of producing the most expensive British car sold at auction - the DBR1, which went for £17.5 million in a US sale last year
The two cars collided and crashed into the safety bank, only to be joined a few laps later by Robin Benson’s Ferrari 250 GT SWB, which careered into both of them.
Little did they know that this three-car wreck would involve some of the most valuable 1960s motor vehicles in today’s market - combined they are easily worth in the region of £50 million at current prices.
And it wasn't the first time the factory-backed Aston Martin team had to rebuild VEV 2.
The achingly beautiful car had been repaired following a crash at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium earlier that year, where it was reconfigured to the latest DP209 racing specification.
If it sells for £15 million, it will be over 4,000 times more than the £3,600 paid by the owner who last bought it in 1971
The rare Aston Martin will be sold at Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 13 July, having been in single-family ownership for the last 47 years
The car is steeped in racing history. Not only did 2 VEV take part in the 1961 and 192 GT World Championship, it was also entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Paris 1,000 Kilometres endurance races
The same vehicle was also raced in the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the Paris 1,000 Kilometres - again driven by Jim Clark - where it finished sixth and returned to the Montlhéry circuit a year later, this time in the hands of the 1963 and 1965 F1 Champ and Sir John Whitmore.
James Knight, group motoring chairman at Bonhams, said: ‘Bonhams is absolutely delighted to be bringing this landmark vehicle to auction, which continues our history of offering the world’s most important and celebrated sports and collectors’ motor cars to market.
'It is, by some distance, the most valuable British motor car ever to be offered at a European auction, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for this historically significant vehicle.’
Jim Clark piloted '2 VEV' to fourth position behind team mate Roy Salvadori in sister car ‘1 VEV’ in at the 1961 Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood
Jim Clark became Formula One World Champion in 1963 and 1965. He died at the age of 32 in 1968 during a racing accident at the Hockenheimring in West Germany
This 1929 4.5-litre supercharged Bentley 'Blower' - also sold at a Bonhams auction at Goodwood - is the most expensive British car sold in Europe. It went under the hammer for £5million in 2012
The car was last bought in 1971 for a fee of £3,600, meaning it has increased in value more than 4,000 times over.
Since retiring from competitive events, it has been kept under the same single caring stewardship for nearly 50 years.
That's not to say it has become a stranger to the track - a full Aston Martin factory restoration took place in the mid-90s and even today it remains ready for period racing events.
Bonhams said it is a rare opportunity to own 'one of the most charismatic, historically important and rarest of all great British racing GT cars, ex-Le Mans, ex-Goodwood TT, ex-Jimmy Clark and a truly great product of this most charismatic British marque, combining the best of British engineering with Italian styling flair'.
Last month, Aston Martin confirmed it would built 25 'new' DB4 GT cars as part of a continuation project.
Each one will be built at the historic home of the British marque in Newport Pagnell, where vehicle assembly ceased in 2007.
Each of the continuation cars will be worth around £3 million.
Jaguar's vintage car division to build 25 'new' 1950s D-Types costing more than £1m each (but that's £15m less than a race-winning original)
- Jaguar Classic will make 25 examples that will be built to order for customers paying in excess of £1million
- Each car will be created to the exact same specification as the original models made between 1954 and 1957
- The D-Type is Jaguar's greatest race car, winning the 24 Hours of Le Man consecutively from 1955 to 1957
- The 1956 race winning D-Type is the second most expensive British car of all time - it sold for £16.6m in 2016
The 1950s Jaguar D-Type is the British marque's greatest race car of all time. And in 2018, it's coming back.
The manufacturer's specialist vintage car restoring division - Jaguar Classic Works - is re-starting production of the iconic race car in Coventry, some 62 years after the last of the original models came off the assembly line.
Jaguar is promising that each of the 25 continuation cars will be 'period correct', meticulously hand built and cost 'in excess of £1 million'. And while that sounds expensive, it's still some £15 million less than one of the original examples that won the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans in the mid 1950s.
D-Type continued: Jaguar Classic will build 25 new 1950s D-Type racers as part of its latest continuation project
The first of the reproduced legends will be shown at the Salon Retromobile classic car show in Paris this week, though Jaguar says it's only an 'engineering prototype' it will use as a starting point to create the other exotic road racers.
The specialist Warwickshire division has already masterminded the reproduction ofnine £1 million Jaguar XKSS models (based on the D-Type racer) that were originally lost in a Coventry factory fire in 1957, six missing Lightweight E-Types and a variety of vintage Land Rover projects.
It says it will commence the D-Type build process this year.
D-Type went on to win the next two 24 Hours of Le Mans, though under the privateer entry of Scottish outfit Ecurie Ecosse based in Edinburgh.
Each car will be built to the exact specification as they left the factory some six decades ago
Each car will be tailored to the request of the customer, who will get to choose if they want a 1954-1955 shortnose model or the 1956-1957 longnose spec
Jaguar Classic is in the final stages of creating 9 XKSS models, pictured above, based on the D-Type and lost in the Coventry factory fire in 1957. Each one is worth £1 million each
Just like the three cars that took the chequered flag at Le Mans' Circuit de la Sarthe, the continuation cars will feature the six-cylinder XK engine and be created to 'authentic, original specification' - though each one will be finished to the exacting request of the customer.
Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director, said: 'The Jaguar D-Type is one of the most iconic and beautiful competition cars of all time, with an outstanding record in the world's toughest motor races. And it's just as spectacular today.
'The opportunity to continue the D-Type's success story, by completing its planned production run in Coventry, is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that our world-class experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic are proud to fulfill.'
Jaguar Classic said the new continuation D-Types will cost 'in excess of £1 million each'
Each one will be powered by the six-cylinder XK engine that graced the original D-Types of the 1950s
The Jaguar D-Type is the British marque's most iconic racer, taking three wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance event between 1955 and 1957. Pictured is the Ecurie Ecosse car taking the chequered flag in 1956
A Jaguar spokesman told This is Money that 'pricing is dependent on specification and is confidential between Jaguar Classic Works and its clients' but said the typical cost for each built would be 'in excess of £1 million'.
While that's a staggering fee, it's some way short of the price enthusiasts are willing to pay for the original models today.
For instance, a 1954 works D-Type raced by Stirling Moss that year was due to be sold by RM Sotheby's in Arizona last month for between $12 million (£8.6 million) and $15 million (£10.75 million), though like another D-Type available in a Gooding sale at the same event it failed to meet its reserve.
If you thought that was a hefty asking price, the 1956 Le Mans winning car became the then most expensive British car of all time when it went under the hammer for $21.78 million (£16.64 million) in 2016.
Each of the 25 cars will be hand built by Jaguar's specialist Classic Works division, which works out of a new premises in Warwickshire and has previously created the Lightweight E-Type continuation project (car bottom left)
The Jaguar XKSS cars were all produced by Jaguar's skilled team of vintage vehicle specialists
While a price in excess of £1 million sounds a lot, it's a fraction of the cost of some of the original cars. The 1954 shortnose model (left) was raced by Sir Stirling Moss at Le Mans that year and is valued at over £10 million. The 1955 example (right) won the historic endurance race in 1956 and is the second most expensive British car of all time, selling in 2016 for £16.64 million
Despite the gulf in value, Jaguar Classic is said to be going to 'painstaking' lengths to reproduce the cars in the most bona fide fashion.
Mechanics will have exclusive access to original Jaguar engineering drawings and records to ensures each new D-type will be built to the precise specifications laid down by competitions manager Lofty England and his engineers in the 1950s.
D-type clients will also be able to decide if they want the 1954 to 1955 Shortnose specification or the 1956-onward Longnose bodywork.
The car pictured here is what Jaguar Classic Works is calling the 'engineering prototype'. It will be showcased later this week at the Salon Retromobile classic show in Paris
A ride in a legend: This is Money's Rob Hull (right) pictured in the Jaguar D-Type that finished second at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans. Former F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart (left) instructs son Paul (driving) about the car before a high-speed trip around Silverstone in August 2016
Jaguar intended to build 100 D-Types but production was cut short in 1957 when the manufacturer decided to cease racing
The engineering prototype set to be displayed later this week is based on the 1956 Longnose spec (the same as the car we took a high-speed passenger ride in at Silverstone in 2016), identifiable by its extended bonnet, enormous tail fin, wide-angle cylinder head and quick-change brake calipers.
Commenting on the continuation project, Kev Riches, Jaguar Classic engineering manager, added: 'Recreating the nine D-type-derived XKSSs was hugely satisfying, and an even bigger technical challenge than the six missing Lightweight E-types, but lessons learned from the XKSS project have given us a head start on the final 25 D-types.
'Each one will be absolutely correct, down to the very last detail, just as Jaguar's Competitions Department intended.'
Each of the new models will be crafted to incredible - and authentic - standards, though owners will get to decide on some of the finer points of the specification
Visitors can attend the Jaguar Classic Works headquarters where the 25 D-Types will be built and get to see the creations first hand
Kev Riches, Jaguar Classic engineering manager, said each car will be 'absolutely correct, down to the very last detail, just as Jaguar's Competitions Department intended'
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