Super Jag 'not for sale'

The luxury car would have to be insured for £8m

There are not many car owners that could turn down offers of £7m for a 35-year-old motor.

But luxury car maker Jaguar has insisted its XJ13 is priceless, despite receiving several multi-million pound offers from around the world.

The Coventry-based manufacturer keeps the car at its Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust showroom.

The XJ13 was hailed as a potential Le Mans 24-hour race winner, with a top speed of 144mph, when it was completed in 1966.

This car is not for sale because it is priceless

Spokesman
Jaguar

But the car was never raced because tests concluded that it was not fast enough to win at Le Mans without substantially more work.

And plans to produce it for the commercial market were put on hold due to concerns that it would overshadow the successful E-type Jaguar.

In 1971 the car was almost written off on the motor industry test track near Nuneaton, but was fully restored and transferred to the Heritage Trust.

A company spokesman said an anonymous Japanese buyer had offered about £7m for the car, which was turned down.

Insurance nightmare

The spokesman said: "This car is not for sale because it is priceless.

"It is the only one of its kind and we would not even consider getting rid of it. If we were to take it out on the road, we would need to insure it for about £8 million."

Two years ago an Ecurie Prosser D-type Jaguar, which won the 1956 Le Mans 24-hour race was sold for £1,706,500 - the most expensive British car ever bought at auction.