1953 Jaguar XK120 'Broad Sport' Road / Race Tourer

Lot details
Registration No: OHP 625
Chassis No: 667032
Mot Expiry: Dec 2017

- An Ex-Works Car as confirmed by its accompanying Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate

- Supplied new to S.H. Newsome Ltd & Co Ltd, the dealership owned by former Le Mans class winner and Jaguar Works driver Sammy Newsome

- Comprehensively re-configured and uprated by Guy Broad to become 'Broad Sport 0009' in 1999

A winner 'out the box' in the Daily Express-sponsored One Hour Production Race at Silverstone on 30th August 1949, the XK120 also claimed victory during the following year's Dundrod Tourist Trophy with Stirling Moss behind the wheel not to mention recording strong performances at that season's Le Mans 24-hours (5th-in-class), Targa Florio (2nd when retired) and Mille Miglia (5th overall, the marque's best-ever result). No less impressive were the three Coupe des Alpes that Ian and Pat Appleyard won aboard their famous XK120 Roaster 'NUB 120'. The latter's successor, 'RUB 120', enabled the Appleyards to claim their fifth and final Coupe des Alpes on the 1953 Alpine Rally. Always one to exploit loopholes, Jaguar's Competition Manager Lofty England recommended that 'RUB 120' be re-bodied from a Roadster to a Drophead Coupe so that it could contest the Viking Rally in Norway as a four-seater (the newly introduced Drophead Coupe featuring a pair of token rear seats absent from its Roadster and Fixed Head Coupe siblings). As things transpired the Appleyards instead used a MKVII saloon for the event but 'RUB 120' did contest the 1953 Lisbon Rally in Drophead Coupe guise. Despite a typically spirited drive to second overall in Portugal, Appleyard just missed out on being crowned the first European Rally Champion.

According to its accompanying Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate this particular XK120 - chassis number 667032 - was built as a right-hand drive Drophead Coupe and dispatched to first owner S.H. Newsome & Co Ltd on 6th October 1953 (the same month that the similarly configured 'RUB 120' found itself in Portugal). No stranger to Jaguar, S.H. 'Sammy' Newsome had achieved Le Mans class wins for the likes of Lea-Francis, Aston Martin and Riley before campaigning various SS100s to great effect including a works entry on the 1939 RAC Rally. His dealership was among Coventry's most successful turning over £1 million per year by the late 1950s. As such, Sammy Newsome held considerable sway with various manufacturers which might explain why the Heritage Certificate for chassis 667032 includes the remark from Chief Archivist and Jaguar historian Anders Ditlev Clausager that: 'This was an Ex Works Car'. We have not unearthed any racing or rallying history for the XK120 but have little doubt that Jaguar's Competition Department would have approved of the transformation that it underwent in 1999.

In becoming 'Broad Sport 0009' chassis 667032 was not only re-born as a Roadster (the opposite of Lofty England's suggestion for 'RUB 120') but also extensively uprated for fast road / eventing usage. Fed by triple SU carburettors, the 4.2 litre XK DOHC engine was reputedly reworked to deliver circa 300bhp. Allied to a Getrag five-speed manual gearbox, it drove the back wheels via an XK150 rear axle complete with limited slip differential, 3.54:1 ratio and strengthened shafts. A Panhard Rod kit and adjustable tramp bars acted on the rear XK150 leaf springs, while upfront many of the suspension components were nickel plated and their action tempered by an anti-roll bar. A rack and pinion set-up gave more precise steering and four-wheel disc brakes (four-pot callipers front / XJS callipers rear) yielded far greater retardation. Adjustable shock absorbers were fitted to all four corners and the radiator, expansion tank, oil catch tank and fuel tank all fabricated from alloy. Finished in Jaguar Midnight Blue with Dark Blue Connolly leather bucket seats, visual clues as to the XK120's significantly improved performance / handling capabilities include: a 'Monza' fuel filler cap, Works-style louvered bonnet (complete with double buckle leather retaining straps), wood-rimmed Moto Lita steering wheel, vented front wings, Luke racing harnesses and 'D-Type' Dunlop alloy wheels.

Purchased from renowned marque specialist Lynx by Robert Farago of Berkshire in February 2000, the XK120 entered the current ownership the following year. Successfully re-united with its original registration number 'OHP 625' by the vendor, his ongoing business commitments mean that he has exercised the Jaguar less than he would have wished. Thus, the 2,200 miles shown by its odometer may well represent the total covered since Guy Broad reincarnated the car as a much-enhanced two-seater Roadster. Offered for sale with sundry paperwork and 'no advisories' MOT valid until December 28th 2017. A unique opportunity.

PLEASE NOTE: Since the catalogue went to press we have been contacted by Paul Newsome. He vividly remembers his father, Sammy Newsome, running a Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe as a company demonstrator because he learned to drive in it. However, he has no recollection of S.H. Newsome & Co Ltd ever retaining a Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupe for use as a demonstrator. He also tells us that by the early 1950s his father's energies were focused on the theatre business as an impresario rather than motorsport. Apparently, it was typical for S.H. Newsome & Co Ltd to register vehicles in their own name before supplying them to private keepers and Paul Newsome feels this is most likely what happened with 'OHP 625' (hence the reason that S.H. Newsome & Co Ltd is listed as the first owner on its JDHT Certificate). Paul Newsome served as a director of S.H. Newsome & Co Ltd from 1963 - 1969. His family sold their company to Henlys and destroyed all their paper records many years ago.

PLEASE NOTE: Having examined the paperwork which accompanies this lot it would appear that the Jaguar was restored / reconfigured in 2000 and not 1999. Lynx were responsible for modifying the chassis, suspension, steering and brakes etc as well as fitting the Roadster bodywork, while Broadsport installed the powertrain (4.2 litre XK DOHC engine / Getrag five-speed manual gearbox) and trimmed the interior. The completed car was subsequently featured in a marque magazine.