$13 MILLION! 1953 Jaguar C Type Works Lightweight

1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight
Sold For $13,200,000 Including Commission
RM | Sotheby's - MONTEREY 2015
Chassis No.XKC 052
Engine No.E 1055-9
Finished 4th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1953
The second of only three Works Lightweights
One of the final C-Types built; the rarest of the racing Jaguars
Campaigned to multiple wins by Ecurie Ecosse in 1954
Driven by the who’s who of Jaguar racing fame
Expertly restored to 1953 Le Mans specifications
Extremely well documented; available for the first time in 15 years
A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the most important Jaguars ever
220 bhp, 3,442 cc DOHC inline six-cylinder engine with three Weber carburetors, four-speed fully synchronized manual transmission, independent front suspension with upper and lower wishbones, torsion bars, and hydraulic dampers, live rear axle with trailing arms, ‘double-action’ torsion bar, and torque reaction member with hydraulic dampers, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 96 in.
THE C-TYPE AND LE MANS
Few sports-racing cars have achieved such legendary status as the Jaguar C-Type, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice for Coventry during the company’s domination of the event in the 1950s. The C-Type began life as the famed XK120 roadster, which had taken the world by storm in 1948 with its revolutionary dual overhead-cam engine.
Several privateering customers entered factory-supported XK120 examples at the 1950 Le Mans race, and Leslie Johnson’s car was remarkably competitive, spending considerable time in 4th place. After watching the event, Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons and engineer Bill Heynes were convinced that a lighter, more aerodynamic body with modified XK120 mechanics had a strong chance of winning the race.
Development work soon commenced, starting with a new lightweight tubular space frame, one of the very first uses of the technique in sports car construction. The XK120’s rear suspension was redesigned with additional positioning links, and the 3.4-liter XK engine received a new cylinder head, high-lift camshafts, racing pistons, and an un-muffled dual exhaust system, raising the motor’s output to 200 horsepower. Most noticeable, however, was the new car’s exquisite coachwork: a fluid aerodynamic conjunction of curves and bulges penned by Jaguar stylist Malcolm Sayer. The first three cars were hand-built in only six weeks and were the first purpose-built race cars for Jaguar. That purpose was to win Le Mans, which they did twice.
Initially known as the XK120C (C for competition), the C-Type debuted at Le Mans in 1951 with a team of factory-sponsored cars. While two of the three entries were forced to retire early with oil line issues, the car driven by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead took the overall victory—the first British car to win Le Mans in nearly 20 years.
Jaguar not only won Le Mans, but they did so handily, finishing 77 miles ahead of the 2nd place finisher and setting the following records: fastest lap speed of 105.232 mph, 24-hour speed record of 93.495 mph, and greatest distance traveled in 24 hours at 2,243.886 miles.
The triumph spurred considerable customer interest, of course, and the new racing model was put into limited production, with 50 cars built by early 1953. The factory’s 1952 Le Mans campaign was less successful, with all three Works cars retiring early due to cooling system issues. Considering the domination of Mercedes-Benz’ 300 SL, Coventry’s engineers realized that the C-Type required a few upgrades to remain competitive for 1953, and a final run of three cars began development.

XKC 052: ON THE TRACK

Chassis XKC 052 is the second of those three lightweight Works examples that were prepared specifically for the 1953 running of Le Mans. These cars constituted the final examples of the mighty C-Type (a last development car wore a D-Type-style body) and featured a number of upgrades over the prior examples. Improvements included new thin-gauge aluminum coachwork, more powerful Weber carburetors, a fully synchronized gearbox and triple-plate clutch, an additional upper link to the rear axle, and a rubber aircraft fuel bladder, amongst other lighter, weight-saving components. Most importantly, the three cars were the only lightweight C-Types built by the factory and were the first disc-brake-equipped entrants to ever run Le Mans, being the only cars so outfitted among the 1953 field. This distinction proved to be quite significant in the race’s outcome.

On February 12, 1953, chassis number XKC 052 was tested by Norman Dewis in preparation for the upcoming race. Wearing #19, the C-Type was entered with its two sister cars (XKC 051 and XKC 053) during the Le Mans weekend of June 13, 1953, piloted by Peter Whitehead and Ian Stewart.
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Robert Myrick Photography©

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