‘Lost’ Pininfarina-bodied Jaguar XK to be unveiled at Pebble Beach concours

A one-off Pininfarina-bodied Jaguar XK that was thought to have been lost for years will be unveiled at the Pebble Beach concours later this month.

The car, which has spent the past two years being restored by Classic Motor Cars, was originally delivered to a Max Hoffman – an influential US importer.

Such was Hoffman’s influence, he was able to refine and develop several vehicles – perhaps the most famous being his suggestion for a Mercedes-Benz 300 ‘gullwing’.

The Pininfarina-bodied XK120 SE was unveiled at the 1955 Geneva motor show. CMC purchased the car two years ago and have spent thousands of hours restoring it ready for the big reveal at the US event on Sunday, 20 August.

Peter Neumark, chairman of the Employee Ownership Trust that runs CMC, said, ‘I will have the privilege of taking the cover off the car at the world famous Concours d’Elegance in California and I think that car collectors and aficionados from around the world are going to be astounded by what they see.’

David Barzilay, chairman of CMC’s operating board, said, ‘Perhaps Hoffman inspired Pininfarina to style and produce such a rare XK?

'We just don’t know, but he was the supplying dealer and then first owner of the car. There is little trace of the car’s history, but we are certain that there was only one XK120 by Pininfarina produced, which makes this one of the rarest Jaguars in existence.’