If you have around $1.5 million to spare, you can buy a brand-new Jaguar XKSS with parts sourced from the 1957 original. It's about as close as you can get to the magnificent original. But if you want a truly authentic model, only 16 of them survived out of the 25 that had completed production after a fire broke out at the factory in 1957. Unsurprisingly, then, opportunities to buy an original are very rare. And when they do occasionally crop up at auctions, you can expect them to sell for extortionate prices.

Gooding & Company is auctioning one of the remaining examples of the XKSS at its Amelia Island event next month. This will be the first time an XKSS has appeared in a public auction since 2005 at Gooding & Co's Pebble Beach event. Back then, that example sold for just under $2 million. 12 years of appreciation has hiked up the estimated selling price of this XKSS to a whopping $16 - $18 million. Essentially, the XKSS was a racecar for the road, based on the Le Mans-winning D-Type race car that won the series three times running, making it one of Jaguar's crowning racing achievements.

The legendary sports car packed a 3.4-liter version of Jaguar's sublime XK straight-six, and produced around 250 horsepower. This specific model was raced by its first two owners in Canada until 1961, before it was passed on to various collectors. It was also restored to concours-condition and has been refinished in a darker shade of green. As for the original nine that perished in the fire, Jaguar is currently rebuilding them as continuation models. Considering that it's been over a decade since an original XKSS went up for auction, don't be surprised if this example reaches, or even exceeds, its estimated selling price.