Rotting Jaguar sports car dug out of garden after 30 years restored and worth a small fortune
Jaguar sports car restored after being found in a garden after 30 years.
It's a car definitely fit for a movie star.
A 1952 Jaguar XK120 originally owned by Clark Gable is being put up for sale for the first time since 1982.
The Battleship Grey roadster was delivered to the Hollywood legend in Cornwall, U.K., where he was working on the film "Never Let Me Go."
The XK120 was the fastest production car in the world.
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Clark Gable shipped the Jaguar to France in 1952 on a Bristol Freighter aircraft. (Alamy)
The name references its targeted top speed, but it was capable of 126 mph with the top closed and a then-record 132.6 mph with the top down and the windshield removed.
Gable ordered it with competition-style wire wheels and hood louvers, but also a rack for his golf clubs, according to RM Sotheby's.
The XK 120 was fully restored in 2011. (RM Sotheby's)
It is known in the collector car world as "MDU 420," after its original registration number.
After filming wrapped up, he used it to tour Europe through the end of 1953, then shipped it to California and sold it.
Gable owned the XK 120 until late 1953. (RM Sotheby's)
The next owner kept it until 1982, which was followed by a trip to Switzerland via South Africa during which it twice traded hands.
That's when the current owner's father took possession of it in the city of St. Gallen.
The car's Swiss owner is offering it for sale for the first time since 1982. (RM Sotheby's)
It's been there ever since and underwent a full restoration in 2011 that cost a reported $500,000, complete with a new red Connolly leather interior.
The car is now coming up for auction at the RM Sotheby's Villa Erbe event on May 20, with a pre-auction estimate that tops out at about that price.
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That's more than twice what classic car insurer Hagerty values a typical 1952 XK 120 in show car condition at, but this isn't a typical XK 120.
The XK 120 was capable of a 132.6 mph top speed. (RM Sotheby's)
"Despite being one of the most famous XK 120s in existence, ‘MDU 420’ could easily be enjoyed on a long trip across the European continent, just like Clark Gable did, or admired on any concours lawn for its outstanding condition and incredible beauty," the RM Sotheby's listing says.
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"Few cars can claim to combine such charm, originality, condition and screen legend provenance, and ‘MDU 420’ will forever be one of them."