Two significant records have been smashed at RM Sotheby’s flagship Monterey auction: one for British cars and one for American cars.
A 1955 Jaguar D-Type sold for $21 780 000 (about R296 121 000), the highest price ever achieved for a British automobile at auction. The 1956 Le Mans-winning D-Type was the subject of a 15-minute bidding contest between four determined collectors.
The record-setting Jaguar is only the fourth British car to have sold for more than $10-million at auction and eclipses the previous record – set by a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato – by over $7-million.
Closely following the sale of the legendary D-Type was an American legend: CSX 2000, the very first Shelby Cobra. This vehicle commanded a final price of $13 750 000 (around R186 964 300), a new auction benchmark for an American automobile.
The original Shelby Cobra was constructed and kept from new by Carroll Shelby and never left his care. Offered by the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust, CSX 2000’s strong sales price bests the previous record of $11-million for a 1968 Ford GT40.
