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721420

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  Mk.VII 
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 721420 
 W4853-8 
  
  
  Switzerland
 
 1954 Dark Blue
 2014 Red
 Rest: Nice 
  
  
  
FranceFrance
 

SwitzerlandBE300017

France2110PG89

Classic Jaguar Saloon photo

12 more photos below

Record Creation: Entered on 25 March 2009.

Database Updates: Show dataplate edits

 

Heritage Notes

1st reg. BE 300017

Photos of 721420

Click slide for larger image. This car has 13 photos. (Dates are when image was uploaded.)

Exterior Photos (7)

Uploaded June 2014:

2014-06-11
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2014-06-11
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2014-06-11
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Uploaded May 2014:

2014-05-18
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2014-05-18
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2014-05-18
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Uploaded March 2009:

2009-03-25
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Details Photos: Exterior (3)

Uploaded June 2014:

2014-06-11
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2014-06-11
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Uploaded May 2014:

2014-05-18
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Detail Photos: Interior (1)

Uploaded June 2014:

2014-06-11
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Detail Photos: Other (2)

Uploaded September 2020:

2020-09-20
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Uploaded May 2014:

2014-05-18
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Comments

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2009-03-25 07:44:33 | Pekka T. writes:

One off, one of two different MKVII Cabriolets made by Ghia-Aigle, Switzerland in 1954, info mostly from:
www.ghia-aigle.info/cars.htm

1954 Jaguar Mk VII Cabriolet (II)

* s/n 721420-DN; owner Benito Mantegani, Lengnau/BI (CH), registered BE 300017; ca. 1976 owner Michael Urban (F), registered 2110 PG 89

2014-06-11 18:14:11 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 6/14
www.osenat.fr/html/fiche.jsp

Auction description:
Lot n°356
1954 JAGUAR MKVII CONVERTIBLE BY GHIA-Aigle
MODÈLE UNIQUE ENTRE LES MÊMES MAINS DEPUIS 1977
ONE-OFF EXAMPLE OWNED SINCE 1977 BY FAMOUS MARQUE HISTORIAN
CHÂSSIS N° 721420-DN
MOTEUR N° W4853-8
Estimation : 200 000 - 250 000 €

A Jaguar special at Villa d'Este, could it be a Ghia Supersonic? No, I'm afraid it's something even rarer! A game of trivia is being played on the guest as Mrs Yourself turns down guess after guess: the Biondetti C-type? No... The XK120 bodied by Oblin? No... "What we have here then... ladies and gentlemen, is my 1954 Ghia-Aigle Jaguar MkVII convertible. Startled looks are exchanged, nonplussed as they are, the more knowledgeable of the guests turn to their friends and offer the missing piece of information that few have caught. "Aigle, Ghia-Aigle is the name of the coachbuilder". The Yourselves are proud to exhibit a car that few know of and fewer still have seen. It's a rare privilege for all those present at the Villa d'Este and its owners will long remember this instant as one of their "lifetime milestones". A glass of champagne in the hand, Mr Yourself sits down by the Rometta fountain to field a few questions from the press and shed some light on his car's history. "Ghia-Aigle was created in 1949 by Dr Filippi in the town of Aigle, Switzerland. Its first name was simply Aigle and it manufactured furniture, accessories for caravans and had a small body bodyshop as a side-activity. Dottore Filippi had struck a verbal deal with Ghia of Turin to use their name although funnily enough no written agreement was ever signed! This small Swiss bodywork?s tour de force was in getting Giovanni Michelotti onboard from 1949 to 1957 who was then followed by Pietro Frua until 1960. One of Michelotti's first designs was a 2 door coupé on a Mk 7 châssis in 1952 and my convertible followed in 1954. My car was delivered in 1954 to its first owner, a Swiss surgeon who refused to display it on Ghia-Aigle's stand at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show! Very little remains of the Mk7's initial shape apart from the front and rear bumpers and the rear license plate cluster. Michelotti's mastery of the craft really shows in this car as the generous dimensions and considerable length of the MkVII have been remarkably tied into a supremely elegant package. The side chrome stripe which houses the door handle and finishes into a sickle gives it a sportier stance and visually lightens the car's lines. The front headlights are covered by the wing which extends past them in American fashion while the air scoop on the bonnet is unmistakably Italian. Speaking of the bonnet, it sinks down under the wings, a feature first introduced on Cisitalia coupés in the late forties and contributes to the rakishness of the design, helped in that by the wire-mesh grille. The rear treatment feels very American as well but then again most European designers took a keen interest in the designs of their North-American counterparts during the fifties." First delivered in December of 1954 to a Mr Jean Rein of Bienne, Switzerland who kept it until 1977 and covered 98 000 kilometres, it was then passed on to the present owner, a noted French Jaguar collector and marque historian. The first owner regularly took it down to the French Riviera, the accounts of which can be found in two little pocket-sized scrapbooks in which his trips, kilometres travelled and fuel consumed were scrupulously consigned over twenty years. When it comes to cars, cross-breeds are very often design marvels combining the best of both (or more) nations and this MkVII is no exception. After an exceptional 37 years in the same hands, it is now offered by auction for the first time in its existence and is certainly one of, if not the only Jaguar that's made it to the Arctic Circle! A full condition report is available on request.

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