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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
• Sale Date:
  19 Jun 2016 ~ 3pm
• Lot #:
  39
• Lot Description:
  1950 JAGUAR XK120 3.4-LITRE OTS ROADSTER
  Chassis No: 671073; Engine No: W 2381-8; This vehicle will be sold unregistered.
• Provenance:
  From the Estate of the Late John Calvert
• Notes:
  The obsession for Jaguar began when a young William Lyons formed a small company building motorcycle sidecars called Swallow Sidecars, in 1922. Not long after, he began designing more stylish bodywork for motor cars, such as those made by the Standard Motor Company, and by 1931 the company's first car, the S.S.1 was on the road. The arrangement with Standard allowed them to concentrate on coachwork and S.S. became known for rakish bodies suggesting sophistication, style and high performance. In 1935, the company made their own engine and soon its first sports car- and the SS100 Jaguar appeared. The beautiful flowing feline shape made it one of the most attractive cars of the 1930s and the powerful 2.5 and 3.5 litre OHV engines gave stirring performances. Following WW2 the SS name was dropped, for obvious reasons, and the company became Jaguar Cars. Its first saloon cars of the late 40s had pre-war underpinnings but William Lyons and Jaguar stole the London Motor Show in 1948, showing their exotic sports car with an exquisite body shape that stunned the world. Powered by a 3.4 DOHC straight-six motor, the Jaguar XK120 was an elite sports car for road use - the XK120 name designating its top speed in miles per hour and the fastest production car in the world at that time. Offering outstanding value for money, orders flourished, leading Britain's crucial post-war export market to America where the fashionable roadster found demand in Hollywood. Simultaneously, the 1949-1952 era of the XK120 lightweights and pre-production aluminium bodied cars achieved major competition results. Under the direction of Lofty England, the newly-formed racing department supplied 6 pre-war drivers, including Prince Bira of Siam, with these lightweight versions, in 1949, with awe-inspiring results and major wins in England and America. A young Stirling Moss drove a pre-production car to victory in the 1950 Dunrod TT. In 1952, Lofty England and several works mechanics supported a works-modified XK120 coupe in a high-speed endurance test at Linas-MontlŽrhy for an average speed of 100mph for 7 days and nights breaking 9 speed and endurance records. During 1951-1953, the XK120C, or C-Type was developed as an endurance racing version, Jaguar going on to years of success at Le Mans and as a consequence the further development with the D type. In 1954, the XK120 was succeeded by the XK140, with the numerals of the name again indicating top speed but not withstanding making competition history in Australia also. And so, because this model has such intrinsic historical merit, researchers, specialists and collectors authenticate the chassis, engine numbers, all important manufacturing dates, via the Jaguar Heritage Trust. This open two seater roadster, Chassis number 671073, is accompanied by the official Jaguar Heritage Certificate. John Calvert bought this car in 1995 at Christie's Melbourne following its importation to Brisbane in 1994 and restoration by Wolf Grodd. Having competed so successfully from 1951-1953 in his first XK120, Calvert was sufficiently enamoured with this car he rallied and toured on many occasions including taking it to the UK in 1996 for 'XK50', Jaguar's 50th Anniversary of the XK120. He also participating in the Jaguar XK120 Commemorative Run-a re-enactment of a post WW2 period wager involving an officially timed run from Darwin to Alice Springs-which was completed in an astounding 10 hours by Les Taylor. The 45th Anniversary group of some 30 XK120s did the same run at a comparatively leisurely pace taking 3 days to complete the same distance. The commemorative number plate from this event accompanies the car. Calvert maintained and kept this car in his collection until the time of his death in May, 2015. We are informed by his family that in recent years the car has been regularly serviced by the late Peter McFarlane of Geelong. The car is presented in silver with red interior trim and is fitted with a four speed manual transmission. The Jaguar Trust Heritage Certificate states this car was manufactured as a left hand drive, in November, 1950 and dispatched on the 8th January, 1951, to Hornburg, Los Angeles, USA. The car also has its body number on a pop riveted plaque to the fire wall 'F2308' matching the brass identification plate. Presenting a rare opportunity to acquire an iconic British sports car with the provenance of a privateer Jaguar racing driver who competed in just such a model at consecutive Australian Grands Prix of the period. This vehicle is documented in The Jaguar XK120 in the Southern Hemisphere, by John Elmsgreen and Terry McGrath.
• Estimate:
  A$85,000 - 105,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.