Vehicle Description
Jaguar XK120 Competition Roadster.
LRW747 is an early steel bodied car originally owned by legendary
Ferrari�importer and race manager Col Ronnie Hoare.
Constructed in August of 1951 this Jaguar was not despatched until
November of that year. From records in the history file it seems
that the car was extensively tested and prepared by Bob Berry, who
had recently joined Jaguar at this time, and this may explain the
delay between construction and delivery to Col Hoare.
The car moved with Lt Col Hoare to West Germany, who was a
commanding officer in the British Army, and remained there for the
three years of his posting. Upon his return to England Ronnie Hoare
retired from the Army in 1955 with the rank of full Colonel and set
up a Ford dealership. Hoare had known Enzo Ferrari for a number of
years and following Mike Hawthorn's tragic death in 1959, Col Hoare
took over as the principal importer of Ferrari's, founding his
Egham based Maranello Concessionaires. Not content to restrict
himself to the sales and servicing business, Col Hoare successfully
entered the motor racing scene, providing cars for the likes of
Graham Hill, Innes Ireland, Mike Parkes, and John Surtees among
others in a variety of national and international events.
Following Col Hoare's period of the ownership LRW747 passed through
a few owners before being acquired by Anthony Hutton in the late
1960s by which time the car had been repainted Black. Hutton was
the competition secretary for the XK Register and soon pressed the
XK into action with entries at many of the major competition venues
of the period including Silverstone, Thruxton and Prescott. Hutton
was also instrumental in helping to organise the XK Parade ahead of
the 1970 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which commemorated the
21st Anniversary of the XK120's maiden victory there in 1949.
During this parade a number of world class drivers were driven
around the track and LRW747 had the honour of hosting the great
Australian driver Jack Brabham.
According to the old-style log book that accompanies the car,
Hutton kept the XK until 1973 when it was sold to a collector in
Barrow-in-Furness who started a restoration but didn't finish it.
The car then remained in an incomplete condition for many years
before receiving a professional restoration in the mid-2000s when
it was returned to its original colour scheme of Silver with
duo-Blue interior. It was acquired JD Classics in 2008 who prepared
it for a return to competition and it successfully ran at the
Goodwood Revival later that year and in the Silverstone Classic
Daily Express XK race in 2009. Further competition activity
followed with an appearance�as part of�the Jaguar Heritage Works
race team,�another entry to the Goodwood Revival in 2015 and
a�well-placed finish in the Mille Miglia in 2017.
Recently re-acquired by JD Classics, this outstanding XK120
benefits from all the latest JD Classics competition developments
and is in outstanding condition. It is accompanied with a good
history file including period photographs, original paddock and
scrutineering tags, correspondence and magazine articles that
feature the car. It is race-ready and offers an outstanding
opportunity to acquire a fully prepared competition XK120 with a
fascinating history. Please contact us for further details.