This Legendary 1957 Jaguar Could Fetch Over INR 117 Crore at Auction

For car collectors who didn’t get their hands on the metallic blue 1957 Jaguar XKSS that went for INR 110 crore ($13.2 million) at last year’s Monterey auction, there’s another chance on the horizon. This November 2, chassis No. XKD 540 is set to go up for auction at RM Sotheby’s first-ever London Peninsula event.

This particular Jaguar XKSS is one of just 16 two-seaters that Jaguar transformed from its Le Mans-winning D-Type race cars between 1957 and 1958, and it’s one of only two still carrying the original XKD chassis number. The other, chassis No. XKD 533, happens to be part of Ralph Lauren’s renowned car collection.

This rare Jaguar XKSS is black and paired with a black leather interior, exposed, riveted aluminum side panels and two-piece magnesium-alloy wheels, complete with red centres. Though the car has seen a thoughtful restoration in recent years, it still carries the worn look of its slightly scratched and scuffed dashboard.

The XKD 540 rolled out of Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory on November 1, 1955, as a “short-nose” D-Type race car, sporting the iconic British Racing Green with a matching green leather interior. Its first owner, British textile tycoon and hill-climb racer Phil Scragg, picked up the car in April 1957 after it had remained unsold for a year and a half.

One of the most well-known XKSS models is chassis No. 713, once owned by actor Steve McQueen. He bought it for just INR 4.20 lakh ($5,000) back in 1958 and nicknamed it “The Green Rat.” Today, the car is part of the Petersen Automotive Museum’s collection in Los Angeles and is valued at more than INR 252 crore ($30 million).

Records show that Scragg sold XKD 540 in late 1959 to British hill-climb racer Jack Browning. The following year, Browning had Jaguar boost the car’s straight-six engine from 3.4 litres to 3.8 litres, pushing it to nearly 250 horsepower for better performance. After several successful races, the car changed hands again, this time to fellow hill-climber Betty Haig. In 1962, it made its way to Australia, where it joined the collection of Melbourne hill-climb and drag-race enthusiast Colin Hyams.

In 1972, XKD 540 returned to the UK and became part of Jaguar collector Bryan Corser’s stable. Known for his passion for concours d’elegance, Corser cared for the car for over a decade before selling it to German collector Hermann Graf von Hatzfeldt in 1985. During his 24 years of ownership, Hatzfeldt drove the car in the Mille Miglia Storica rally and participated in several Oldtimer Grand Prix events at Nürburgring.

In 2008, XKD 540 was purchased by Polish entrepreneur Jarolsav Pawluk, who entrusted UK-based Jaguar specialist Pearsons Engineering with a complete mechanical and bodywork overhaul. After owning the car for over a decade, Pawluk passed it on to its current owner in 2017.