This is the rarest Jaguar in the world ‑ XK120 by Pininfarina at Pebble Beach

It’s an XK120 according to Pininfarina – hence the Italian influences – and not surprisingly it’s very rare. Although Pf and Jaguar aren’t unknown to each other – remember the angular XJ12 concept and 1978 XJ-S Spider convertible? – it took American petrolhead, Max Hoffman, to get the famous Italian carrosserie to re-body his XK120 as a one-off.

The resultant XK120 by Pininfarina is, apart from being a shoe-in talking point at any XK club meeting, a pretty sexy looking thing. In 1955 it was sexy enough to be unveiled at that year’s Geneva Motor Show, even though it was only ever destined to be a one-off. 

As such it’s a candidate for the rarest-ever Jaguar. But at least since the weekend we know more about it, and can appreciate its lines again. The car, which had languished in a poor state in Germany for almost 40 years, has again taken the spotlight, this time at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California at the weekend. 

The special Jag was rescued from Germany by Classic Motors Cars and after a marathon 6725-hour nut-and-bolt restoration is again in the peak of condition. Many of the parts, including 80 per cent of the chromework, had to be remade. It has proved worth it: at Pebble Beach, it even came away with a gong!

Peter Neumark, Chairman of the Employee Ownership Trust that runs CMC, said: “It was a privilege to take the cover off this long-lost Jaguar at one of the most important Concours in the world.”