cars news 10: Restored 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE Debuts at Pebble Beach

Here’s a bill we never hope to receive—Classic Motor Cars (CMC) spent 6,725 hours performing a full nut and bolt restoration on a rare Pininfarina bodied 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE.

The stunning Jaguar was unveiled in California at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance over the weekend.

“The car was admired all day and we are delighted to be bringing a trophy home as a further testimony to the skills, dedication, and attention to detail that we have in our business,” said Peter Neumark, CMC chairman, in a statement.

Italian design house Pininfarina was responsible for the beautiful bodywork and famed importer Max Hoffman was its original owner.

This XK originally made its debut at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show and appeared at a number of shows afterwards, including the 1956 Turin Motor Show.

“There is little trace of the car’s history, but we are certain that Hoffman was the supplying dealer, then first owner of the car and that there was only one XK120 by Pininfarina produced, which makes this one of the rarest Jaguars in existence,” said David Barzilay, CMC’s operating board chair.

CMC purchased the car in 2015 and restored every nut and bolt on the mint specimen you see here.

“Some of the original parts were impossible to find so we had to remake items such as the bumpers and chrome work by hand from photographs,” said Barzilay. “We had to scan the front and rear end of the car and make mock ups of the lights, which were then scanned and 3D printed. Smaller missing parts were also 3D printed in-house.”

According to the restorers, Pininfarina had used the original XK body as a basis and at some point in the car’s life it was painted Burgundy. As you can imagine, it was a real challenge finding the original paint and interior trim shades.

“The interior trim door cards were missing, along with the carpets and the original color of the trim, but we discovered a small sample of original Ochre tan leather when we stripped the car down,” said Barzilay. “This was color matched and the original type and color leather was used to recreate the interior. The shape and pattern of the door cards was created by looking at similar Pininfarina-designed cars from the period.”

Bravo on a job well done—now we know where to take our priceless classic (of our dreams) for a full restoration.

Source: Classic Motor Cars