In their wildest dreams, every collector hopes to one day pull a car out of a barn - rusty, dusty, but of such significance that it would astonish the experts. This is exactly what happened with the C-Type XKC023, as experienced by Dr Christian Jenny.
The Jaguar C-Type with chassis no. 023 was delivered at the end of 1952 to Jaguar's main Californian dealer, Charles Hornburg, who then sold it on to Joe Henderson in Seattle. In August 1953, Henderson took part for the first time in a regional race, the Seattle Seafair 100 Miles. The drivers were Bill Pollack and Jack Douglas, the latter a Hollywood comedy writer and television producer. Douglas was known for his comedies for Hollywood celebrities and his close relationship with Mitzi Gaynor.
A little later, Mr Douglas, from the City of Angels, became the first owner of the stylish, fast C-Type, and he made the most of every opportunity to be seen with the car and his girlfriend. Racing was in his blood too, and the C-Type was often used, with great success, at local racing events. After an accident in which XKC023 sustained considerable bodywork damage, the hobby racer's interest in the C-Type waned. Nevertheless, the car remained on the West Coast for a few more years and, in 1962, passed into the ownership of Frank Schierenbeck, the owner of a renowned Jaguar dealership. The C-Type remained there until 1997, although it had already fallen into obscurity by the mid-Sixties. In 1986, the first search for traces of the missing chassis began; in 1997, the treasure was unearthed; and in November 2000, XKC023 was completed. No sooner restored than the Jaguar treasure entered the historic Mille Miglia 2001 with Jenny/Werdenberg as its crew. Two years later, Mr Jenny and XKC023 took part in the celebrations marking the Le Mans victory, and in 2006 the car was presented with the coveted FIA Heritage Certificate.
CHF 570.-
