The place, Le Mans; the time, 4pm. The starter’s flag sweeps downwards. Sprint across track, leap into cockpit, press starter, cacophonous sound of 3.8 litre race-tuned engine instantly bellows POWER. Stamp on throttle pedal, tyres spin on damp surface and the longnosed, tailfinned, British racing green Jaguar D-Type, bearing the No 1, catapults into the mêlée of . . . well, actually, I am in Eastbourne. But you can’t have everything.

What I did have, though, was a cool £2.5 million of classic Jaguar that Mike Hawthorn, then future Formula One world champion, had raced at Le Mans. Tucked into XKD 605’s Second World War fighter-like cockpit, I was gripping the original, thin, wooden steering wheel that he had held, accelerating out of a roundabout past all “competition”: a Toyota Yaris, a diesel Ford Mondeo and a determinedly driven Audi A3.

Of course, the Jaguar could have had them all for breakfast, if unleashed. Half a century ago, its top speed along the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans was 185mph and 0-60mph was reached in a mere 4.5 seconds – about the same as today’s luxurious Jaguar XKR – performance that brought the D-Type three victories at Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1957, its greatest triumph, with five cars in the first six places.

Ironically, as the company celebrates the 50th anniversary this weekend of that huge success, comes confirmation that Jaguar may be sold. But this is not just another car manufacturer; it has a fine family tree of great models, with the D-Type – and its production descendant, the E-Type – forming the bedrock of its pedigree.

XKD 605, owned by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, is regarded by Tony O’Keeffe, the curator, as one of the most original in the world. Raced in 1956 at Le Mans with a fuel-injected engine, it was plagued with misfiring. Even so, it managed the fastest lap at 97.345mph and finished sixth, Hawthorn sharing the driving with Ivor Bueb. The car also won the 1956 Reims 12-hour race. “It is among the Heritage Trust’s most treasured possessions,” O’Keeffe said.

Apart from a heavy to use racing clutch, which must not be slipped (a three-day job to replace, I was reminded), the 295bhp D-Type is remarkably easy to drive. “It is also very reliable,” John Sawyer, who gave it a total overhaul last winter at the Heritage Trust’s South Coast facility, said. “But looking after a D-Type properly does require a great deal of time and money. I know every nut and bolt of XKD 605 because I took them all off – and put them all back.”

Cruising through the countryside in the car is a surreal experience. The Jaguar has a small windscreen, but a leather helmet and goggles are de rigueur for driver and passenger. The engine sound is magnificent and as it warms through and the revs rise, its exhaust barks out the good vibrations of another age.

The fuel injection system was removed long ago and now the car has triple Weber carburettors, gulping high-octane unleaded petrol at the rate of eight miles per gallon with the throttle wide or sipping a gallon every 15 miles when pottering along – which is not often. It costs about £200 to fill the huge fuel tank.

Changing gear demands precise double-declutching. The steering, controlled by that thin wheel, is high-geared and exact; disc brakes on all wheels feel almost modern. As for its looks, the car – designed by Malcolm Sayer, an aviation aerodynamicist who was also to create the E-Type – is slinky and sinuous to the point of sexiness.

But the best D-Type view is one that few will be fortunate enough to experience. It is sitting hunkered down in that cosy cockpit, the bonnet’s power bulge flanked by undulating front wings, the smell of oil and fuel and leather sucked away in the slipstream, the scenery flowing past accompanied by a crescendo-to-diminuendo-to-crescendo rhythm of engine and exhaust – and knowing that there just could not be anything in the motoring world quite as wonderful as driving a Jaguar D-Type.

Specification

Car 1956 Jaguar D-Type

Engine 3.8litre six cylinder 295bhp

Transmission Four-speed

Performance 0-60mph in 4.5sec, top speed 185mph (now geared to 144mph)

Fuel consumption 8-15mpg

Price New £3,000; now £2.5 million-plus

Alternatives 363 Fiat Panda 1.1 Actives; 38 Jaguar XK Convertibles; 21 Bentley Continental GTs

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