Half Moon Bay – Adolescent growing up near Buffalo, Ny, Jim Horvath was fascinated by the Jaguar Xk -e led by the goalkeeper of his best friend. It was long, low and elegant and Horvath imagined that he had one day one of what is often called the most beautiful car ever made.
It took a few decades to the retired mechanical engineer in San Jose to realize his dream and almost as long to restore his Jaguar e of 4.2 -Litre of 1967. It is not white like the fantastic vehicle Jaguar of his youth, but he has an emblematic shade – British Racing Green. He has a black ragtop.
“It is not a modern car, but it drives very well,” said Horvath at the recent Festival of dream machines in the Pacific Coast at Half Moon Bay airport. “I want to go back to 1967. This is what I feel when I drive it.”
“The top speed was around 145 (miles per hour) and from zero to 60 (MPH) was about 7 seconds. Relatively, speaking, it was a very fast car at the time in the 60s.”
The Jaguar has a double -headed camshaft (DOHC) producing 265 horsepower and a four -speed manual transmission. It burns premium fuel and weighs 2,475 pounds. About 5,800 jaguars of all types were manufactured in 1967.
Horvath, 73, who also has a 2006 Corvette, often presents his Jaguar in San Francisco shows in Morgan Hill, Campbell in Carmel.
On dream machines of the Pacific Coast on April 27, the vehicle was exposed in the annual eclectic mixture of cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes and motorcycle.
Keeping in a festival atmosphere with food sellers, music and children’s activities, the 31 -year -old event is a key fundraising for the CoastSide Adult Day health center in Half Moon Bay.
“It’s so fun to go out; people like electronic jags,” said Horvath. “Everyone has a story. Their uncle had one or the guy at the bottom of the street. People really love them. ”
The legacy of Jaguar Xk-E as the most beautiful car ever designed in 1961 when the coupe made its debut at the Geneva automobile fair. The car attracted so much attention; Another was asked of the Coventry manufacturer in England.
Norman Dewis, the famous longtime test driver who died in 1985, led a convertible all night at high speed to have another Jaguar to extravagance.
Although it is often refuted, the legend details the founder of Ferrari Enzo Ferrari by telling the test driver: “What a beautiful car, we did nothing better than that. The only problem, Norman is that he has no Ferrari badge on it. ”
Vintage cars lovers may or may not agree with the evaluation of Ferrari. Perhaps a dozen other vehicles have also been anoints such as the best automotive masterpiece. But the XK-E receives honor as often as any vehicle.
In 1996, the New York City Museum of Modern Art recognized the type E, adding a Jaguar roadster to its permanent design collection. It was only the sixth vehicle to receive the distinction.
The Daily Telegraph, the British newspaper Broadsheet, announced in 2008 that the Jaguar Xke was vehicle n ° 1 in its list voted by the subscribers of the “100 most beautiful cars” in the world of all time. The Citroën DS finished second, followed by the Jaguar XK 120/140/150, Ferrari Dino 246 GT and the Lamborghini Miura.
“I restored it to the firewall, what is called the bathtub,” said Horvath. “I had to replace this because it was so rusty. I had to dismantle the whole car. It’s quite original. I tried to save as many original parts as possible. ”
The details of the purchase price and the investment of Horvath in the vehicle were not discussed. But the Jaguar cost about $ 5,500 nine. Its current value is more than $ 100,000, said its owner who also cited the fluctuating value of the car.
“The car has a fairly easy life; it spends most of its time in the garage,” said Horvath. “Painting is 30 years old. But I keep it every two weeks. Whenever I remove it, he gets someone’s love for a stopper or in a parking lot or fills it with gas. ”
James Raia, a syndicated automotive columnist in Sacramento, also contributes to commercial, lifestyle and sports content with several printed and online publications. E-mail: james@jamesraia.com
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