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| This D-Type won at Reims |
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If there is such a thing as the definitive Jaguar racing legend, this is it. Unlike the C-type which was a rebodied and modified version of a road car, the D-type was racer through and through. It missed winning Le Mans on its debut in 1954 by a fraction despite its 3.4-litre, six-cylinder engine being dwarfed by the 5-litre V12 used by the winning Ferrari 375; thereafter it never looked back, taking a hat-trick in the world's toughest race from 1955-57. The car I am to drive won not at Le Mans but the 1956 Reims 12-hours with Duncan Hamilton at the wheel. In the hands of Mike Hawthorn, it was by far the fastest car at Le Mans that year but technical troubles held it back to 6th at the flag. Owned today by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, its value is the far side of £1.5m.
Sitting on the starting line of the Festival of Speed, it's best not to think of such things. If I think I'm Hawthorn I will certainly crash the car, if I think of its value, I'll park it at the side of the road. Instead I am aware only of the colossal privilege of being able to sit in such a car and briefly let it perform.
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| Careful Andrew, it's worth £1.5m |
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The light goes green, I feed the 3.8-litre motor a slug of fuel and step smartly off the clutch. This might seem an unnecessarily brutal way to treat such a noble old warrior but, in fact, it's kinder by far than being gentle. This way there's no clutch slip and the only things that spin are the Dunlop racing tyres on Lord March's tarmac.
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