E, F and GT Register run to Hindmarsh Island (cont)

The July edition of Octane includes a 9-page feature story about two extraordinary one-off Jaguars built by two different coach-builders and Belgium “Iron Lady” Joska Bourgeois. After WW2 Joska walked up to the home of Sir William Lyons and demanded the right to sell his cars in her country. She wasn’t someone who would take no for an answer. Reportedly, Lyons would conduct business with only two women. The other was his private secretary....

Joska thought that Jaguar’s portfolio was missing products and Lyons gave the green light and sent three donor cars to Turinbased Stabilimenti Farina. Two designs were based on Mk VIIs and the third an XK120 (#660922). The XK120 was named a “Flying Jaguar Coupe”. The three cars were displayed at the 1952 Brussels show. Joska was hoping to sell 50 of each but there were no takers and the three designs remained one-offs. The fourth car on display was based upon one of the reserve lightweight XK120 (chassis #660751) that had been set aside for the LeMans 24 hours in 1951, but never used. Belgium racing driver Jacques Herzet bought the chassis through Joska and sent it Brussels coach-builder Martial Oblin to receive new bodywork, all aluminium like the Stabilimenti Farina XK. The parties involved decided on a style led largely by that of a Ferrari 195 Inter but with a unique interpretation of its tail. The car also gained a small fixed roof. It was not surprisingly called a “Jaguarri” and was raced by Herzet for a number of years. Both cars had a hard life and eventually each car was “rescued” and restored by their new owners. Full story in Octane Magazine that retails for $15.95 .