London 2019
1953 Jaguar XK 120 Drophead Coupé
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£92,000 GBP | Sold
| Kensington, London, United Kingdom
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- Just two owners from new; nearly sixty years of prior single ownership
- Highly original, including original paintwork and interior
- An ideal candidate for the preservation class at shows and concours
- Registration and maintenance records dating to the 1950s
This left-hand-drive Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupé, finished in Birch Grey over red leather, was built 12 March 1953 and dispatched to Los Angeles, California, on 26 March 1953 through the West Coast distributor, Charles Hornburg.
As designated by its chassis number, S 677020, this is a Special Equipment model, making it the 20th drophead coupé built, the sequence for these starting at 677001. It was ordered by Bertha A. Brown in Lake Forest, Illinois, on 28 August 1954 and remained with her family, passing to her son Charles, until 2013, when it was purchased by the consignor, a very well-respected collector of British sports cars.
A file of documentation with the car retains early U.S. road registrations and receipts for maintenance going back to the 1950s, and, alluding to the family interest in motoring, the car still wears a Sports Car Club of America sticker in its windscreen. Close inspection of the car today, both in terms of paint and its interior, seems to suggest that the car was never restored, although the wheels have been painted. The leather, while clearly old, shows only limited wear and boasts incredible patina, and the headlining for the convertible roof is in remarkably outstanding order.
A document file includes the handwritten order form, the car invoice from 28 August 1954, and early registrations as well as maintenance receipts dating to the 1950s.The wooden panels of the dashboard have been replaced, but the original panels come with the car. This Jaguar should prove an ideal candidate for a preservation class, adding to its desirability.
After almost 60 years in the ownership of the Brown family, it is believed by Jaguar specialists that there are less than a handful of such cars on the planet in original condition like S 677020.