For those of us who weren’t around before color TV, it’s hard not to imagine people in black and white moving awkwardly and ungracefully fast through overly crowded streets, when we think of the “olden days.”

Sometimes we don’t realize how colorful the past actually was. Well here is an example of how colorful some things really were.

It’s a 1953 Jaguar XK120 Drop Head Coupe in a blue usually only seen on modern exotic cars like Lamborghinis. It rolled off the Browns Lane Factory assembly line in Coventry in 1953 in this exact color.

When the current owner bought the car for $5,000 in 1982 from a 90-year old man in Portland and brought it back home with him to Seattle, where the car was originally from, it was rusty, used, and driven hard.

He bought the car when he was 25 years old thinking it would be a relatively quick and easy restoration but after the body and frame were separated, it was apparent this would not be the case. It was taking so long that he went out and bought another XK120 DHC in white which he drives on a daily basis. 

25 years later, after a painstakingly thorough and frankly unimaginable restoration, the car was completed.

The owner could have easily changed the body color during restoration to something “safer” which is what a lot of people do, but instead he went with the original loud light blue and finished it off with a set of matching spoked wheels and white walls. The complete package was something he had specifically dreamt about since he was a kid.

The entire dashboard is a beautifully crafted walnut, which is probably not the safest and softest in the world, but if I were to burn to death in a car, I would choose to be cooked in walnut. 

The car has won several Jaguar North America Concourses (1st place in 2011) and 1st in class in plenty of other shows. 

Since the car’s completion, the owner went out and bought yet another classic cat, a 1934 Jaguar SS1 Touring car which he is still working on and hopes to have it finished for his retirement.

Yes it’s a motorcycle powered car but the Mini is small and light to begin with and this one has been stripped of all wasted weight. It has a widened stance, it’s fitted with a roll cage, and has some racing seats to hold your tush in place.

It’s a little rocket that compliments the ultimate handling capabilities of the Mini and makes it ready to compete with Caterhams.

Before the 911, before the 356, there was the Type 64 (Rekordwagen). Hand built in 1939 out of aluminum, it was Porsche’s first official car. 

There were only 3 Type 64 cars built and they were all destined for racing the Berlin-Rome Road Race to gain some attention but unfortunately the event was canceled. 

Until 2011, when the car seen above was completed, there was only one Type 64 in good condition, #3. Car #1 had been wrecked by a VW board member and used to build #3 and car #2 was destroyed by U.S. soldiers during WWII, but many of the parts were painstakingly tracked down by Hamberg’s Prototyp Museum as part of the massive project to recreate #2 which won the 2011 International Historic Motoring Awards.

The Type 64 laid the groundwork for the 356 production car after the war and now thanks to those who care about preserving the past, there are 2 of the 3 still alive today.

Malte submitted via email: My Mini John Cooper Works Edition D’Or 24k gold galvanic inside full carbon fiber with gold cord weaved through the carbon. Made by a Yacht manufacture from Germany.

100octaneveins submitted: Car on the left is the new 991 Porsche 911 Carrera. Car on the right is a friend’s 996 with Porsche Racing CF wing and GT Racing GT3R front bumper. 

Both are beautiful pieces of German engineering, built for speed and beauty, and fully enjoyed by the owners and fellow enthusiasts.

-Anton Graf