The 1954 Jaguar XK120SE Coupe – the last of its type produced and one of only 195 fixed-head examples with right hand drive – was bought new by Peterborough-born Alex Henshaw, who went on to become, from 1940 until 1946, the chief Spitfire test pilot.

Mr Henshaw paid about £1,700 for the Jaguar. That might not sound a lot now, but in 1954 it was possible to buy a decent house in Peterborough for less than £2,000.

The money Mr Henshaw, who died last February, splashed out on a gleaming new sports car in 1954 then represented more than three years' wages for the average Peterborough worker.

The Office For National Statistics in London confirm that the average wage in 1954 was nine pounds, seventeen shillings and eightpence a week, or less than £10 in today's money.

Mr Henshaw was still only in his 20s when he became chief Spitfire test pilot. He oversaw a team of 25 pilots and flew more than 2,300 Spitfires, as well as other planes.

He is thought to be the only pilot to barrel-roll a four engined Lancaster Bomber, a feat considered impossible until he did it, and he also once flew a Spitfire down Birmingham's Broad Street, flipping it upside down over the town hall.

Henshaw learned to fly when he was 20 and took part in air racing, competing against more famous pilots such as Geoffrey de Havilland, a relative of Hollywood actress and Gone With The Wind star, Olivia de Havilland.

In 1933, Henshaw competed in the blue riband of air racing,The King's Cup,winning the Siddeley Trophy. He also won the inaugural London-Isle Of Man race in 1937, before winning The King's Cup in 1938, with the fastest ever time at an average speed of 236.25mph.

Then, in 1939, he set a new world record for a solo flight from Gravesend, Kent, to Cape Town, South Africa, a round trip of 12,754 miles which he completed in four days, 1 0 hours and 16 minutes. At the end of this gruelling feat, he was so exhausted that he had to be helped out of the cockpit.

He later wrote a book about the adventure – titled Flight Of The Mew Gull.

After the Second World War he joined his prosperous family's farming and holiday business in Lincolnshire and, in 1953, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for his rescue work in the 1953 floods.

The following year he splashed out on a new Jaguar, which will be auctioned by Bonhams at Goodwood in Sussex on Saturday.

A spokesman for auctioneers Bonhams said: "Told by the post-war government to 'export or die', the British motor industry responded valiantly, none more so than Jaguar Cars, soon to become the UK's biggest US dollar earner, thanks in no small measure to the success of its sensational XK120 sports car.

"Conceived in war time, the XK engine embodied the best of modern design, boasting twin overhead camshafts running in an aluminium alloy cylinder head, seven main bearings and a maximum output of 160bhp.