HE was the quintessential British gent and star of the cult fantasy secret agent series The New Avengers in the 1970s.

Now the car driven by John Steed - actor Patrick Macnee who died in June this year aged 93 - is coming up for sale at auction.

The 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 12 featured in the series will be going under the hammer at the H&H Classics sale to b e held at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in Cambridgeshire on October 14 with an estimate of just £10,000 to £12,000.

Steed's famous Jag, in racing green, was the eighth XJ-C 12 made and originally an experimental model featuring a Broadspeed body kit and extra-wide wheels fitted specifically for the programme.

Dry-stored for many years 5.3-litre 12-cylinder XJ Coupe is now in need of restoration and according to H&H is an ideal project for someone who loves a ‘barn-find'.

Damian Jones, sales director of H&H Classics, said: "Who of us who remember the series did not at one time or another fancy ourselves at the wheel of this car? Now there is a chance to make that fantasy a reality for a very nominal amount."

The car featured alongside Steed, Gambit and Purdey - played by actors Gareth Hunt and Joanna Lumley - in the New Avengers which first aired in 1976.