Description
Sherwood Green with Suede Green leather, This is a very special XK 150 indeed -Chassis XB 1001 is the factory hand built pre-production prototype development car. A letter from the Special Facilities Office at Jaguar to the car’s then owner in 1980 confirms the XK was used by Jaguar’s experimental department in early 1958 and that it had additional work carried out whilst at Browns Lane. They note that the engine number prefix “KE” shown on the Heritage Certificate corresponded with a 3. 4 Mark I saloon of the time, highlighting that as a hand built pre-production prototype XB1001 didn’t conform to standard production car practice with a large number of interesting detailed differentness from the later production cars. After its developmental duties at the factory, XB 1001 was road registered on the 1st May 1958 and issued the works registration WDU 493, In July 1958 the XK was sold or perhaps gifted to its first owner, the prominent Racing Driver Ivor Bueb who was Jaguar Works driver who won the 1955 Le Mans with Mike Hawthorn and again in 1957 with Ron Flockhart in the Jaguar D-Type. WDU 493 has entered into important private collections over the years and has been meticulously maintained with extensive cosmetic and mechanical work that included a complete bare metal repaint in its original factory colour of Sherwood Green, A re-trim in correct Suede Green leather, Complete re-chromed, New colour coded wire wheels and a mechanical overhaul in 2017, and a complete engine rebuild in 2019 along with a new clutch by a well known Aston Martin and Jaguar Specialist. This important XK150 has featured in numerous specialist publications about the marque, including A. D Clausager’s Jaguar XK140/ 150 in Detail and Bernard Viart’s authoritative books specifically on the XK150, as well as being featured in Jaguar Driver Magazine in June 1988 and Jaguar World Magazine December 2017. This XK150 is complete with a provenance file including a Jaguar Heritage Trust Certificate, Letter from Jaguar Cars confirming provenance, Letter from Chris-Keith Lucas of Lynx Motors confirming provenance, Various information on previous owner Ivor Bueb, Various service/ parts invoices and Magazine articles featuring WDU 493. Rarely does a car from Jaguars Experimental Department enter the market, most were marked ‘Return to Produce’ but it appears Jaguar was content to allow an exception and especially one with proven pedigree - The first of the last... A wonderful and rare opportunity.
