A 1957 Jaguar XKSS will be offered for sale at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island auction, to be held Friday, March 10, 2017 at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida.
“This renowned sports car delivers D-Type performance with nimble and responsive driving dynamics, paired perfectly with the most voluptuous design,” said David Gooding, President and Founder of Gooding & Company.“For us to present this XKSS, one of the greatest sports cars of all time and the first one offered at public auction in over a decade, is truly a great honor.”
Jaguar had tremendous racing success with the company’s D-Type, most notably three overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1955, 1956, and 1957), two wins at the 12 Hours of Reims (1954 and 1956), and outright victories at the 1955 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1956 Grand Prix of Spa. In October 1956, at the height of the D-Type’s career, Jaguar announced that it was temporarily retiring from motor racing to focus on production cars. On January 21, 1957, the company publicized plans to build and sell an exclusive run of 25 road-going sports cars based on its Le Mans-winning D-type, to be known as the XKSS. Jaguar had constructed only 16 examples of the XKSS when, on the evening of February 12, 1957, a fire engulfed the Browns Lane plant, destroying the nine unfinished chassis.
The car presented here, chassis XKSS 716, is one of those 16 original examples of the roadster. The Jaguar was delivered new to Montreal, Canada, where it was raced to many first-place finishes in Canadian sports car events from 1957 to 1961. The XKSS was sold amongst Jaguar enthusiasts, where it continued to race in various events and enjoyed at numerous vintage rallies, until the current owner acquired the car nearly two decades ago.
About ten years ago, XKSS 716 received a complete, show-quality restoration by UK-based marque specialist Pearsons Engineering. Restored and refinished in a deep, dark green, XKSS 716 made its Concours debut at the Pebble Beach Concours in August 2010, where Jaguar was featured in recognition of its 75th anniversary. The show’s organizers arranged a special XKSS class, reuniting 12 of the 16 original cars. Since this outing, the XKSS has been shown at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and driven on tours in Europe and North America.
The last public auction of an authentic XKSS took place in 2005 when chassis XKSS 704 sold for $1,925,000. Gooding & Company estimates XKSS 716 will bring $16,000,000 – $18,000,000 at their annual Amelia Island sale.
For additional details, visit GoodingCo.com.
Gooding and Company Amelia Island 2017 – Auction Information
Date: Friday, March 10, 11:00am
Location: Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Plantation, 6800 First Coast Hwy, Amelia Island, FL 32034 (1 mile south of Amelia Island Parkway)
Public preview: March 9-10
Auctions catalogues: $75, includes admission for two to the viewing and the auctions
General admission: $30, includes admission for one to the viewing and the auctions
Phone: 310.899.1960
Bidder Registration: $200 includes a catalogue, admission for two to the viewing and auction with two reserved seats, subject to availability.
[Source: Gooding & Company; photo: Brian Henniker]
