The Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Type, XKD 501, sold for a record $21.78 million. Patrick Ernzen photo © 2016 courtesy RM Sotheby’s.

MONTEREY, CALIF. — RM Sotheby’s kicked off its flagship Monterey sale before a packed house on August 19, setting a series of records for automobiles.

Leading the charge, a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, chassis no. XKD 501, sold for $21,780,000 – the highest price ever achieved for a British automobile at auction. The 1956 Le Mans-winning D-Type, widely recognized as the most important Jaguar ever made, was the subject of a 15-minute bidding contest among four determined collectors before reaching its final price, comfortably surpassing its $20 million low estimate.

The first D-Type supplied by Jaguar to a privateer team, XKD 501 was sold new to the famed Scottish Racing team, Ecurie Ecosse, who campaigned it to victory at the grueling 1956 Le Mans 24 Hours. It was offered at RM Sotheby’s sale following almost two decades in one of America’s leading collections. 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 by more than $7 million. That was set by a $14.3 million 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato sold by RM Sotheby’s in New York in December 2015.

CSX 2000, the very first Shelby Cobra, realized $13.75 million, a new auction record for an American automobile. Darin Schnabel photo © 2016 courtesy RM Sotheby’s.

Closely following the sale of the D-Type was an American legend – CSX 2000, the very first Shelby Cobra, which also roared into the record books, commanding a final price of $13,750,000 – a new auction benchmark for an American automobile. One of the most highly anticipated lots of this year’s Monterey auction week, 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 represents a new record for an American car sold at auction, besting the previous record — $11 million for a 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf / Mirage — which was set at the same sale in August 2012.

Watch for a complete report on this sale in an upcoming edition.