Jaguar XK120 Pinin Farina
Based on the XK sports cars, a number of special bodies were built by external coachbuilders between 1948 and 1961. Most of these remained one-offs. One such vehicle was built at the end of the XK120 series in 1954 by Pinin Farina in Turin on behalf of the US importer Max Hoffman. He appears often in the automotive history of the 1950s. In his spacious showroom in New York, he offered various European brands. In addition, he asked his customers what kind of cars they wanted and passed these inspirations on to Europe. His inquiries resulted in the BMW 507, the production version of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, and the Porsche 356 Speedster as the most affordable entry-level version from Zuffenhausen at the time.
Pinin Farina’s design came too late
The Jaguar XK120 was too antiquated in design for many US customers. Max Hoffman therefore ordered a Coupé body from Pinin Farina with echoes of the then modern pontoon design. After the appropriate work was done on the basis of an XK120 SE, the car made its debut at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show. The only bad luck for Hoffman was that at that time the modified successor XK140 was already on display on the Jaguar stand. It would have been too expensive to adapt the Pinin Farina Coupé to the new platform with the engine shifted slightly forward. So this car remained a one-off. A month after the Geneva Salon, the unique XK120 was also on display at the Autocar Show. A further appearance at the Turin Motor Show was actually planned, but this didn’t happen as a buyer had been found in the meantime.
Elaborate restoration at CMC
Unfortunately, it isn’t known who this first owner was, nor where the car was located in the subsequent 23 years. In 1978, however, it resurfaced in the USA in poor condition and was purchased by a German collector. The latter placed the Jaguar in his garage with the wish of one day restoring it completely. However, this never came to pass. The British classic car restorer Classic Motor Cars (CMC) was able to acquire the wreck in 2015. In the two years that followed, the well-trained staff put 6,725 man-hours into the vehicle, restoring it from the ground up. In the process, many special parts had to be reproduced by hand or using 3D printers. In addition, they used original paint particles to create the exact colors of the car and painted it a corresponding green with a light green roof. In 2017, the XK120 debuted with a second-place finish in the post-war class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Auction at Bonhams
While the body, with its fine edges, beadings and curves was created entirely at Pinin Farina, the designers also made some interior modifications. These included new door cards. Since these were no longer available as a basis for the restoration, CMC created completely new components with design borrowings from other Pinin Farina cars from the same period. The dashboard and seats were reupholstered in the correct shade of leather. The Italians didn’t touch the 3.4-liter inline-six engine or the rest of the chassis. So it remained at 180 hp, which was sufficient for a topspeed of 130 mph in the standard XK120 SE. At the beginning of March 2022, the unique Jaguar XK120 Pinin Farina will go under the hammer at Bonhams as part of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. There is no estimated price as yet.
Images: Bonhams, Classic Motor Cars (CMC)
