THE car that took tragic racing legend Jim Clark on his last journey is up for sale for £40,000.
Clark was one of the greatest racing drivers of all time and his death, aged 32, in a crash in 1968 shocked the world.
The Scot’s body was carried to his final resting place in Chirnside, Berwickshire, in a 1937 Rolls Royce 25/30.
The vehicle, which had been converted to a hearse, was converted back in the years following the funeral and is now up for grabs.
The car is on sale from Edinburgh shop Antiques and Salvage and is listed on Car and Classic.
The car even comes with a written certificate of authentication from the funeral directors stating it is the car used to transport Clark’s remains.
James Black of John Black and Sons Funeral Directors said that at the time of Clark’s funeral the car was was owned by his father, Hector.
He said: “My uncle John was one of the pallbearers.
“I was really young at the time. After the funeral, my father, was offered hundreds of thousands for the car from Americans. He was really popular at the time but he refused.
“I remember him saying, ‘I wasn’t going to make my fortune from somebody else’s demise’. We eventually got rid of it around 1993. It was costing too much to keep up and it had to go through vintage workshops.”
The car comes with a document signed by James, which states: ” I can confirm that the Rolls Royce 2530, CYS824 was the version that Jim Clark world racing driver of Edgington Mains, Chirnside made his last journey (funeral).
Current owner Kirsty Henderson, from Edinburgh, bought the car this year from an elderly gentleman but did not know about its tragic associations.
She said: “I just bought and I didn’t know at the time it was the car he took his last ride in. It’s quite incredible.”
Clark died after skidding off the track and somersaulting into a wood at about 170 mph during a Formula Two race in Hoffenheim, Germany, in 1968.
He has been hailed as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers, due to his achievement of winning more Grand Prix races (25) and achieving more Grand Prix pole positions (33) than any other driver at the time.
He won two World Championships in 1963 and 1965 before his death in 1968.
When he wasn’t racing he was at home in Scotland farming and became friends with many of the locals in Chirnside.
The Rolls Royce was converted into a hearse after it was acquired by John Black and Sons funeral directors before the Second World War.
They eventually sold it in 1993 as it became too expensive to maintain and look after.
It was then used converted back into a car from a hearse where it was used as a wedding car.
