This crashed hulk of a Jaguar 150S 3.8 sold a few days ago at a Bonhams auction for $127,552, or six times over the sale estimate. Someone’s going to have quite a project on their hands.
According to Bonhams, the Jag “was spun off the road on a wet day in September 1996. The vendor (seller, now deceased), who was driving the car, unfortunately lost control and ended up crashing head on into a tree. He remarkably walked away, however the car has remained garage-stored ever since. Considering the date of the crash and being kept in dry storage, the car is still in a salvageable condition, and offers enormous potential as a rewarding project car. An opportunity not to be missed.”
Call me impressed that he walked away, given that steering wheel.
Sad but true, on several levels.
What are you getting for your $127,552 besides the VIN?
I imagine the VIN was what was wanted.
These are BOF cars. And almost everything for old Jags is available. The frame will be straightened or replaced from a less exclusive donor, and the body rebuilt/repaired. The XK-150S 3.8 drophead was always a pretty rare car .
The question is only what it will be worth afterwards.
In Britain, perhaps the licence plate? Looks to end in a single numeral, 6. XYZ6 would be worth it, to some.
Good point. If a low number that could be worth a good deal of money. Didn’t a low plate set sell recently for as much as this whole car? I thought I recalled reading that.
Just watched the video, the rear plate looks to be missing so not sure how that all works out.
Here’s the story about the low-digit plate, though.
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/11/16/british-license-late-o-10-sells/
Just unscrew everything under the gearshift lever, keep the lever, and screw new stuff onto it. Cinch.
Someone’s Dad must be a television repairman with an awesome set of tools. He can fix it!
“You can’t fix this car, Spicoli!”
I think it would be more accurate to say that the driver limped away.
Only 268 XK150 3.8 S made—total. Only 79 drophead coupes (which I’m pretty sure this is). So, if you want the fastest of all the X150s, here’s your chance.
Before there were collapsible steering columns, there were collapsible spokes
Were collapsible spokes really a thing, or did I miss a joke?
$1,883 “invested” in Dogecoin on New Year’s Eve would have paid for that today. Sobering.
This would be the perfect candidate for a replica of John “Plastic” Pearson’s Modsports car, notorious for its fiberglass body and stunning speed.
Good for some original parts, I would think. That’s about it.
Well, it looks like a nice 150s drophead sold for $227k in 2019. Add covid luxury goods escalation and it seems reasonable financially if you’ve got that kind of money.
I’ll take their word for it being garaged since 1996, but I think the garage was next to a river that flooded every spring.
“The vendor, now deceased….remarkably walked away..”
Looking at the broken windscreen from his head and those broken-off spokes, one cannot help but wonder how soon the former followed the latter.
The Jag was probably done up in a profitable rush during the last classic boom of the late ’80’s, judging by the unseemly amount of Arthur Daley’s finest bog falling out of those side panels.
Personally, I’d just pay double or whatever for one that was the right length, and drivable.
To have survived that crash, he had to be stinking, blind, drunk. I cannot see how he’d survive if he had been sober, and tensed up before impact.
Funny, I always thought of Theseus as a boat-guy; I never imagined he’d want a Jaguar.
Hard to see the financial logic here, tbh.
Says someone about a classic car project every few minutes……but seriously? That’s one big punt on a rising market and a good restoration
Maybe Jay Leno bought it. He is the self admitted Captain of the more money than brains club.
I don’t find him entertaining, but a lot of people do, so yeah, he has enough money to buy whatever-all he wants. But how do you reckon he’s feebleminded or foolish? I don’t see it.
I bet you’ve never met anyone who finds him entertaining either.
Anyway, he doesn’t have to be feebleminded to have more money than brains – have you noticed how much money he has? He’d have to be some kind of super-being from an as yet undiscovered planet to tip the scales on that ratio.
He had a great job – be rich enough that the guests respect you and be unfunny enough that you don’t overshadow them. Ditto Letterman – although his money to talent ratio wasn’t quite as dramatic.
I think you are taking things out of context. Concerning Jay Leno and Cars it just means that he knows some of his projects/purchases are a poor decisions financially, but that he has enough money to do it anyway.
Jay Leno made a comment about this when restoring a Corvair Rampside pickup. Something like–where else can you pick up a car for $500, stick $50K into it and have a car worth $12,500?
Perfect example.
His videos may be light entertainment, but I do enjoy the seeing the more interesting cars ‘on the road’.
I sometimes wonder how much money he spends on the whole enterprise. I suppose when you make millions a year for a decade or two it’s affordable, but it must still be a meaningful sum. It will likely be a significant collection historically, and for that he deserves recognition and credit.
Wow. What’s all this about Jay Leno? He was good as an entertainer, still is. And he is a great car guy and gear head! How can you not appreciate that? I’m sure many of us would live a dream like his if we could afford to. I applaud him and what he shares. I think he is cool. I watch every show he posts on Youtube. I may not agree with everything he does, but I like him. By the way, he has 1 Falcon and 3(!) Corvairs!
The video seems to have disappeared, but Jay Leno told a similar story as Paul on helping the parents buy a new Ford Galaxy.
Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR5bUtHBzIs
I would imagine that all the body panels would have to be replaced, so that the body could brought up to perfect spec. Hopefully the engine was not damaged as the running gear and some of the suspension could be salvaged. From what I’ve read about XKE restorations, they often cost 100,000 dollars to complete, so I bet whoever bought this car will have well over 200,000 dollars into the project. The Jaguar company itself is currently providing a complete restoration program for selected E types at their shops in England. In the U.S.( Calif. at least,) the car would have to carry a salvage title. I’ll bet this car will see better than factory restoration and that it will be reborn as a remanufactured vehicle with a clear title of some type.
Even at that high price, it is cheaper than a Hemi Cuda and a much more interesting and pedigreed car.
Unless almost every body panel is available as NOS I fail to see how it can be restored.
Fans of early VW Type 2s (Busses) are fanatical. This is practically showroom fresh compared to some of the T2s I have seen restored.
A little more on the car:
Thanks for posting, cool to learn more about this car! I’m not a British car fan but it’s a really rare, interesting roadster just the same!
The fact that this Jag delivered the 5-point palm exploding heart technique to the driver–and he survived–may speak for its value as a good luck charm. Maybe that’s why he kept it on ice for 25 years? If his luck holds out, he might get the asking price.
Correction– his luck apparently did hold out!
I hope someone does rebuild or restore this beautiful Jaguar .
FWIW, in the late 1970’s I fell asleep driving my 1964 Chevy Chevelle four door sedan and hit a lamp post at speed doing the same thing to the two spoke steering wheel ~ I bloodies most of my knuckles when they side the steering column post yet I too walked away .
I couldn’t take a deep breath for almost a year and my chest was black for three weeks and purple longer that that .
I still wonder how I survied .
-Nate
Well I can think of some Jag specialists who could rebuild this and profitably theres a guy in Timaru who builds entire cars from scratch Jags Ferraris and other exotica for wealthy clients this would be simple for him, my old dictor could get this back on the road and likely has the parts its not that bad.
Next time on Hoovie’s Garage: “I Bought the CHEAPEST Jag 150S on the Internet, and the Car Wizard Tells Me Everything That’s Wrong With It!”
And the fact that no one posted “That’ll buff right out” might be an indication that this cliche has mercifully run its course.
That’ll buff right out!
“No lowballers, I know what I got” must have worked this time!
“Ran when wrecked!” 🙂