VIN: Max Hoffman's unique Jaguar XK120 SE Pininfarina Speciale chassis S675360
Jaguar - Jaguar XK120 - Jaguar VINs - XK120 VINs - Max Hoffman - One Offs - Pininfarina
History of chassis S675360
Chassis S675360 was a special-bodied XK120 SE commissioned by Jaguar’s US distributor, Max Hoffman.
Hoffman was born in Vienna in 1904; his father was a Rolls-Royce dealer.
From an early age, young Max Hoffman raced cars and motorcycles.
Hoffman and his business partner started importing luxury cars to Europe in the early 1930s. When Austria was taken over by Nazi Germany in 1938, Hoffman (who had Jewish ancestry) fled to France. In 1941, he boarded a ship to the USA where he earned a small fortune creating women’s jewellery from metallised plastic.
After World War 2, Hoffman returned to his true passion: motor cars.
In 1948, Hoffman became the US distributor for Jaguar. He quickly added Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Austin, Morgan and Lea-Francis to his portfolio. In 1950, Hoffman became the exclusive US distributor for Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche soon followed.
In 1954, Hoffman commissioned the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, to design a 3600-square-foot Jaguar showroom at 430 Park Avenue in New York City.
That same year, Hoffman also placed an order for an XK120 SE to be sent to Pininfarina for special coachwork.
S675360 was dispatched in April 1954. The chassis number confirmed it as a left-hand drive Open Two Seat Roadster.
Upon arrival in Italy, S675360 was transformed into a stunning Coupe.
The headlights were mounted either side of a large vertical intake grille and inboard of shapely new front fenders. Unlike the production XK120, the fenders were flattened out which gave a much more contemporary appearance.
Pininfarina integrated wraparound front and rear windscreens plus side windows with opening quarterlights.
At the back, delicately finned fenders were adopted along with a single piece bumper that curved all the way around to the rear wheel arches.
One of the most unusual features was the split front bumper with its distinctive upswept centres.
The interior was completely redesigned. Instrumentation was moved from the centre of the dash to a small binnacle directly behind the steering wheel. New seats and door panels were installed.
The finished car was painted light green with a silver roof. The interior was ochre. Leather was used to cover the dash, door panels, seats, sidewalls, A pillars, parcel shelf and rear windscreen shroud.
Upon completion, chassis S675360 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1955. It may subsequently have also been displayed at the New York Motor Show in April prior to Hoffman taking delivery.
How long Max Hoffman retained his custom Jaguar is unclear. The car soon disappeared from the public eye.
In 1978, it was purchased in the USA by a German collector and returned to Europe.
In 2015, chassis S675360 was acquired by Jaguar specialists, Classic Motor Cars in Shropshire.
Once back in England, the car was subject to a 6700 hour restoration. The unique Pininfarina XK120 was then displayed at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours. It was the first time it had been seen in public since 1956.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Pininfarina - https://pininfarina.it/
