There were a few cars that caught my eye:

Gold Medal: Lot 59: 1953 Jaguar XK120 Drophead

This was the standout for me at the Auction.   The XK120 was one of Sir William Lyons best creations and the combination of black paint and red interior really shows it off.   The Drophead is the most desirable model and this car looked in excellent condition.   Guiding range is $120-$150k and I expect the car to do this or more.

Silver Medal: Lot 36: 1961 Mercedes-Benz 220SE Coupe

Regular readers will know how much I admire the W111 Coupe and Cabriolet models.   This 220se is one of the nicest early 220SE’s around.   The car was a common attendee at Mercedes car shows at one time and I got to talk to the long time owner a few times.   He had owned the car since the 70s and the condition was a credit to him.   The paint colour really sets off the lines of the car and it has a rare sunroof.    Guiding price is $60-$70k.   This seems a lot for a 220, but probably not for one in this condition.

Bronze Medal: Lot 33: BMW M635CSI

If I had a BMW in my garage, it would be one of these.   In exactly this spec.   The M6 might get the attention, but it is not 3x the car of the M635CSI.   This car is equipped with a manual transmission, black leather interior, low miles and only a few owners.  Guiding range is $32-$38k

Honorable mentions:

The Fiat 500 and the Mini cooper both looked like great fun cars and in great shape.   I would be happy to own both of them.   I am not normally a ute fan, but the Holden FX ute was in great condition and was a standout.    The Buick is a nice looking car, but it is disappointing the straight 8 was replaced by a V8.   I’m also normally a fan of Rolls Royce Silver clouds, but this one was the long wheelbase with division.   These are rare, but more set up for the owner and driver to be different people.   This particular car was bought for the Premier of Victoria, before it was electoral suicide to be driven around in such a car.

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During a recent visit to the UK, I was able to tour the British Motor Museum.   The Jaguar Heritage Collection is housed in the same building as the overflow collection.

The collection has a good representation of Jaguar vehicles from swallow sidecars to the current models.   Key models include the SS1, SS100, the first and last E-Types etc.   They also have a number of concept cars from the 90s to the present day which are quite interesting.

The best exhibits for me were:

• 77RW, the first production E-Type OTS
• The very last S3 E-Type
• Early SS cars, including SS1, SS100 etc.
• A range of cars previously owned by the Queen Mother, including a DS420, XJ12
• Good examples of their famous models like the XK120, XK140, XK150, MK1, MK2, S-Type, 420
• XJ13, C-Type and D-type racing cars
• The four cylinder XK engine

Some of the collection is housed in the main museum, which will be covered in a separate posting.    I really enjoyed seeing the cars, although I think it would be nice to see a purpose built display for them.   For example, they have all four ‘Utah’ cars (the MK1, MK2, S-Type and 420), a display showing the evolution would a nice touch.   They have something like that at the BMW museum for the 3-Series.

Jaguar were probably at their peak in the period between the late 50s and late 60s when they introduced some of their most famous models.   After a period in the doldrums in the 90s and 2000’s where they focused too much on retro models, they seem to have their mojo back again.   In my view, they are taking their history seriously, but not trying to rest upon it.   You would have to think that William Lyons would be impressed with the newfound success of his company.

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