1958 Jaguar XK150 SE

AUD $189,500 from Paradise Garage, Sydney, Australia

It’s perhaps an over-used sentiment, but originality cannot be recreated. Most cars require restoration at some point during their life, so to find one that has survived untouched for 60 years is a rare occurrence. For that car also to have interesting provenance is almost unheard of. This Jaguar XK150 SE, offered by Australian dealer Paradise Garage, is one such car.

Imported to Australia in February 1958, the 3.4-litre XK150 SE – chassis S824118BW – promptly went on display at the International Motor Show at the Royal Exhibition Hall in Melbourne. Painted in Cotswold Blue with a blue leather interior, the automatic XK – one of only four ever imported into Australia – was used for press and marketing material, before being sold to Seaton Motors in 1959. It passed through one private owner before finding its way to a loving long-term home where it stayed for 55 years.

It lived in Penrith, near the mountains to the west of Sydney, where it was used regularly for family duties locally. It also tackled a handful of longer trips to Sydney and the beach, which took the mileage to around 40,000 miles.

When the family took the difficult decision to sell the car, they wanted to make sure it was properly preserved for the future. It was taken on by Paradise Garage, which is known for its Jaguar restorations and its sensitive approach to retaining originality.

This significant car then returned to the halls of the Royal Exhibition Building for an exhibition at Motorclassica in 2017 – the site of its original unveiling almost 60 years previously.

After it was shown at a few events, the decision was made to recommission it, and it was immediately clear that the Jaguar had to be conserved as carefully as possible. Work was kept to a minimum, but it included the replacement of various rubber components and gaskets along with a new battery and tyres. Nothing has been replaced where it could have been avoided.

That Cotswold Blue paint remains slightly patinated and crazed but completely original. Bar that gentle ageing, it’s as it would have been when it left the factory some 60 years ago, as is all the brightwork and trim. Now the XK is ready to be enjoyed and preserved for future generations. paradisegarage.com.au