1953 Jaguar C-Type LeMans #18 (AUTOart) 1/18

Jaguar C, also known as XK 120C, of which 53 units were built from 1951-1953. The sport racer was designed for the purpose of competing in long distance races, particularly the Le Mans 24 hrs Grand Prix d'Endurance. In the Le Mans race held June 13 and 14, 1953, the Jaguar C models finished 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 9th, outclassing all of the world's fastest sports cars. Driven by Tony Rolt and J. Duncan Hamilton, the Jaguar C smashed all records in speed and distance in averaging nearly 106 mph on the 8 1/3 miles course.

During the early fifties the Le Mans 24hr race was the most famous in the world. In order for a car to compete it had to be a “production” model and to satisfy this requirement manufacturers had to commit to producing at least fifty identical cars within a year. So, fifty “production” D-Types were made and, with winning the race in mind, a much more sophisticated D-Type sports racer was developed. The car was to break fresh ground as it was largely a monocoque construction. Attached to this “tub” of magnesium alloy was a tubular front sub-frame which carried the engine, steering and front suspension. With its bag tanks for the fuel, the D-Type borrowed a good deal from aircraft practice. For power Jaguar again relied on the XK engine but to limit the frontal area, always a consideration at Le Mans, engineers shifted to a dry-sump system and rotated the engine eight degrees off the vertical to lower the hood line. This resulted in the D-Type's trademark off-centre hood “bump”. In an effort to gain more stability during high-speed runs on Le Mans' famous Mulsanne straight a large fin was mounted behind the driver's headrest. Entered at Le Mans as factory team cars in 1954, the first D-Types were only narrowly beaten by the much larger-engined Ferrari V-12s. Jaguar quickly got its revenge a few weeks later when the D-Types driven by Peter Whitehead and Ken Wharton came in first and second at the 12hr race in Rheims at an average speed of 104.55 mph.

1953 JAGUAR C-TYPE LEMANS #18 (AUTOART) 1/18 Diecast Model Car