Jaguar Other 1959

This Lot will be sold at auction at Symphony of Spring; Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 7th March. Hand built aluminium special. Fabulous unique design with XK150 engine. This unique, stunning and beautiful nod to an era of sportscars consigned to history books and vintage meetings, was the creation of one man who had a vision! He wanted to use the base of a Jaguar XK150 with its superb 3.4 litre engine, now mated to a Toyota Supra five speed gearbox and then set about designing his dream. The result is a totally bespoke, hand built aluminium bodied Jaguar Special, panel beaten to perfection and oozes class and envy. Its 3.4 lite engine sounds evocative via its twin subtle exhausts just pertruding the rear of the car. The project began in 2017 when the previous owner, an aluminium fabricator and builder of the car embarked upon building his beautiful dream creation. He bought a Jaguar XK150 fixedhead coupe, chassis number 824682, which he had originally planned to transform into a racer. That was when he decided to reclothe the chassis in the style of a 1930s racing car.The majority of the instrumentation is from the XK150 donor car, the rest was really a matter of trial and error until he got it right! Max (the creator and builder) made all the panels himself, using the traditional English wheel to get the lines and shapes he wanted. The 3.4 engine was retained but rebuilt with a modified cylinder head with breathing through special triple twinchoke Webers. To make it more user friendly, the Jaguar gearbox was replaced with a Toyota Supra fivespeed unit, while the disc brakes and suspension were beefed up.The whole build project took three years to complete. With its integrated headlights, sloping grille and tapered rear, it certainly looks evocative and similar to the likes of a Bugatti Type 39 and Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C etc. The oval shaped bonnet bulge that runs down the drivers side behind the grille houses the carburettors, which too is reminiscent of those fitted to sportscars of that period. All the screws and rivets match up, and the exhausts discreetly exit through the rear light pods. Presented in Mid Grey with black wire wheels and unpainted aluminium mesh grilles, it all aims at creating the oh so sexy lines of the racers from a bygone era! The seats are leather covered, and the car is fitted with a large diameter wooden steering wheel and the dash is made up of a single Bakelite unit with five toggle switches in the middle of the dashboard which he says looks a bit like a Lancaster bomber! The engine produces certainly more than its original 210bhp and when you put your foot down, the wonderful sound from its twin exhausts and its lively acceleration, gives it a truly unforgettable experience which certainly our client has enjoyed in his ownership. Consigned by James Good