Page 50 - Mar2023

Upc oming Auc tion Sale s
"I t's only M one y, afte r all."

H ave you noticed that Just about this time every
year, car people start to get itchy, and itchy turns into
attendance at the first big auctions of spring. The
offerings glimmer in the new sunshine, and bidding
numbers seem to raise themselves, as one person's
old dream becomes another person's new one. This
year spring fever feels just a bit different because
the early signs are that what is scheduled to go

Bet You've Never Seen under the hammer is much more unusual than the
usual eye candy, as dandy as it always is.
One of t hese Before
1991 Jaguar XJR-15

The House of RM Sotheby's will offer the rarest of the
rare, a 1991 Jaguar XJR-15, #1 of only 27 examples
built to be used on public roads at its Amelia Island
Auction, March 4th. Chassis # 042 has traveled only
153 miles since new and is expected to sell in the
vicinity of $1.5 million dollars.

According to the catalog, this XJR was sold in January,
1991 for £620,000, approximately $1,182,000 US, by
TWR -JaguarSport Limited via the UK-based specialty The XJR-15 was developed as a racecar for the road and
auto exporter Wheels Abroad. It was shipped from became the first roadgoing car to use carbon fiber in the
the UK to Asia via the NYK operated container ship construction of its body and tub. Peter Stevens penned the
XJR-15?s lines and the body utilized a carbon fiber and
Kitano.
Kevlar composite two-years before the McLaren F1
?XJR-15 042, offered here, has been hidden from the all-carbon road car.
public eye in the garage of its original owner from new This XJR-15 features a Jaguar 6.0-liter V12 mid-mounted
and has never been offered for sale before,? the engine that produced a factory-rated 450 horsepower and
420 lb-ft of torque when. A five-speed manual transmission
listing states. ?Delivered new to a collector in Asia in
sends power to the rear wheels.
July 1991, it remained on static display within the
collection of its original owner until being shipped to
the US in late 2022.
?Barely used and never registered in its home country,
chassis 042 remained undisturbed in storage until late
2022, when it was shipped to the US to finally be sold.
It has not been started, driven, or been seen in public
since it left the UK in 1991 and represents an exciting
opportunity for the next owner. It will need a full
mechanical service before any use.?
Information and images courtesy of Sotheby's 50