Jaguar XK120 Chassis 660017: A Racing Legend Restored to Its Former Glory

Driven by the Attlee government’s post-war ‘export or die’ strategy, Jaguar Cars grew to become Britain’s leading earner of US dollars. This success was largely down to the revolutionary XK120 sports car. This particular Jaguar made its debut on the racetrack in 1949, where it immediately triumphed in the legendary race at Silverstone.

History en Circuit-DNA

Chassis 660017 was first sold to Roland Desborough in 1950. To further optimise its performance on the track, original C-Type parts were fitted to the car in 1953. Following a crash, Paul Roberts was urgently looking for a fast replacement, which led him to this unique XK120.

Restoration: Craftsmanship versus Filler

When the Jaguar XK120 arrived at our workshop, the car appeared ‘in very good condition’ at first glance. The customer had simply asked us to correct the alignment of a misaligned headlamp. However, during our inspection, numerous defects came to light. For instance, the entire bodywork was found to be covered with a layer of no less than 0.7 mm of body filler (see photo on the right).

Although the owner had previously had the car restored in England, the work carried out fell far short of the desired standard. The owner’s trust had been betrayed, but the reality was inescapable: to get the car into truly top condition, we had to carry out a complete restoration from scratch. The result is a Jaguar that is not only visually stunning, but which, thanks to our work, also meets the highest standards of authenticity and craftsmanship.