Denoted by the “S” prefix, chassis number S 677020 offered here is a high-performance Special Equipment model. Compared to the standard XK 120, which had launched as the fastest production car in the world, SE examples gained higher-lift camshafts, a lightened flywheel, and dual exhaust pipes to increase output from 160 to 180 horsepower.

Recorded on the accompanying copy of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) Certificate, chassis number S 677020 holds a 12 March 1953 date of manufacture. Built in left-hand-drive form for the United States, it was handsomely finished in Birch Grey with a French Grey soft top roof over a Red leather interior. Two weeks later, the XK 120 SE was dispatched to Los Angeles, California via West Coast distributor Charles Hornburg.

Supported by a copy of the original invoice dated to 28 August 1954, the Jaguar was purchased used from British motor car dealer S H Arnolt of Chicago, Illinois by Ms Bertha A Brown in Lake Forest. Living on the shores of Lake Michigan, Ms Brown offered a 1951 Nash Rambler Convertible in part-exchange for the XK 120 SE.

The Jaguar would remain in the Brown family for 60 years, with a copy of an Illinois state title confirming that custodianship had passed to Bertha’s son Charles A Brown Jr in March 1981. He had the car exported in 1990 to the United Kingdom, where it was stored for two decades. It was subsequently bought by a collector of British sports cars in 2013 and then registered for road use with the numberplate “914 YUT”.

Purchased by the vendor at RM Sotheby’s London auction in October 2019, chassis S 677020 continues to stand out as a paragon of preservation. Having never been restored, the car still wears what is strongly believed to be its original Birch Grey paintwork and Red interior. In addition, the odometer reading of 24,345 miles at the time of cataloguing is believed to be genuine. Invoices, available to view on file, track a linear rise from 6,975 miles in October 1954 through to 21,174 in October 1991.

Further accompanied by a tool roll, wheel nut mallet, jack, and spare wheel, this beautifully preserved XK 120 SE Drophead Coupé would be an ideal contender in concours events, not least owing to its outstanding originality.