New car news

22 July 2009 - 11:00

Pebble Beach’s perfect C

See more Jag C-Type racer pics

If the new Jaguar XJ isn’t floating your boat – though, judging from the comments, it’s doing the trick for most of you – what about a Jag from the old school?

How about a 1952 C-Type racer driven to victory by Phil Hill, up for auction next month at the swanky Pebble Beach meet in California?

Just 52 C-Type racers were built between 1951 and 1953, and this mintier-than-mint example was shipped to the US, winning several races in the hands of American F1 world champion Phil Hill.

Loosely based on the XK120 road car – though weighing in a full 450kg lighter – the C-Type is powered by a straight-six which puts out around 152kW in its 1950s prime.

The C-Type won Le Mans in 1951 and 1953, doing battle with the Mercedes 300SL and making history with its second victory as the first car to average over 160km/h.

This shining example was never crashed, and bears the venerable Mr Hill's signature. Price? No word what the C-Type will go for, but we’d expect it to start with a large number, feature several large numbers in the middle and probably end with a few more, er, large numbers. Start saving...