To be fair, it was a mangled wreck, yet someone decided to pay nine times its lower estimate of £10,000 to secure it at auction. Why?
The remains of the 1960 Jaguar XK150 S.38 Drophead Coupe look ready for no more than the scrapheap, but a mixture of faith and hope – and possibly a little charity – mean that it will now rise again to wow petrolheads in what must be the ultimate recycling exercise.
This vintage Jag was a very limited edition originally: just 69 of the right-hand drive models were made. It also played a massive role in the development of sports cars; quite an eyeful on its own terms, it also proved to be the stepping stone to the iconic E-Type, arguably the most important British sports car of the 1960s.
This model has been with the vendor since 1969, and they remained the proud owner until it had a serious argument with a tree in 1996, since when it has languished in its current state.
Now though, someone with enough vision and money to make the difference has snapped it up at auction with a view to restoring it to its former glory. I just hope that they film the entire process as they could make a mint out of the rights.
When fully restored, it is thought that it might be worth up to £250,000, so the new owner will have a chance of getting their money back and more if they ever decide to sell.
There has been a lot of talk about antiques being green as they are recycled through the secondhand market at auction or via dealers. But I can’t think of any better illustration of that argument than this XK150.
