Nic Cage-owned Lynx Jaguar XKSS for sale
Eleanor may have been his first love, but the Gone in 60 Seconds star has always been a Jag man
Many of the great car movies of the early '00s have been lost to the passage of time and the relentless release schedule of the Fast and Furious franchise. Who now remembers the Italian Job reboot? Granted, it wasn’t nearly as characterful or as quotable as the 1969 original - and it was a lot more American - but it was a semi-decent car flick. A brilliant chase through the streets of Los Angeles (which isn’t Italy) with a trio of body-kitted R53 Mini Coopers was a highlight and a welcome distraction from those awful and jarring references to the original.
The other major car movie crushed under the weight of the F&F films is, of course, Gone in 60 Seconds. Nicolas Cage plays Memphis Raines, who’s tasked with stealing 50 of the 20th century’s finest cars for a crime boss in exchange for his brother’s life. True, there are some goofy moments (the Low Rider scene is Cage comedy at its finest), but they’re far outweighed by plenty of glossy car shots and an epic car chase with the much-replicated Shelby ‘Eleanor’ GT500. And just like the era’s other car movie tough guy, Paul Walker, Nic Cage is a proper petrolhead, owning a Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Miura and a Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster among many others. This Lynx-prepped Jaguar XKSS also formed part of his extensive collection - and is now up for sale on PH.
Admittedly, it seems a bit odd that one of Hollywood’s biggest actors would be rolling around in a replica Jag. If the gossip sites are anything to go by, Cage’s collection once featured a genuine Jaguar D-Type and various vintage Bugattis: the sort of cars that are valued like medium-sized private jets or small islands. However, the aforementioned (old D-Types included) are relatively available to those with deep enough pockets, whereas the sale of a genuine XKSS is a once-in-a-generation event. Jaguar only built 16 examples of the XKSS, essentially a road-going version of the D-Type, though nine were destroyed in a factory fire mid-assembly, with the remaining six - Steve McQueen’s included - split between museums and private collections.
The XKSS you see here is as faithful to the original as they come. Lynx is regarded as one of the best in the business when it comes to caring for old Jags and replicating them, to the extent where owners of the real thing will get the British firm to build them a like-for-like recreation to thrash around Goodwood. This example takes authenticity to the next level, too. Most XKSS built by Lynx were fitted with 4.2-litre engines, but this gets a period-correct dry sump 3.8-litre straight-six (an upgrade offered by the Jaguar factory in the early '60s) with Weber carbs. Just imagine the noise this thing makes.
Modelled on Steve McQueen’s ‘Green Rat’, the car was commissioned by a prolific Jag and Ecurie Ecosse collector, before being swept up by a buyer in the US who ended up handing it over to Nic Cage. A few years on, it arrived back in the UK, where was treated to a full restoration by Jaguar specialist Thorney Kelham, and sold on to Chris Evans (the TV presenter, not that Captain America bloke) to form part of his humungous collection. It’s been with its current owner since 2016 and maintained by historic Jaguar specialist CKL Developments. So while it’s not strictly an original XKSS, it’s been its whole life as if it were.
As it’s not a museum piece, you’ll actually be able to take this on public roads and have some fun without worrying about splattered bugs mucking up the paintwork, or worse. Don’t expect MR2-based replica money, though. This is a proper recreation, one that’s been owned by one of the world’s most recognisable actors and that fella from TFI Friday, and as such will set you back £349,995. Still, that’s a monumental discount on the real thing, with one selling for north of £12m a couple of years ago. If you were the buyer, congratulations, but are you ever going to make use of it? Get this to go along with it and sign yourself up for the Revival.
In fairness, the title of this article calls it a "Lynx Jaguar XKSS", although really it should be "Lynx Jaguar XKSS replica.
The Lynx is more a replica than some examples which should really be termed "kit cars".
But owners of these cars invariably refer to them as "my D-Type, my XKSS", etc, when, of course, they are nothing of the sort.
I do tend to think that the pool of buyers is just getting smaller and there are more cars than folk who want one, not Jaguar specific, seems to be anything pre 1965 is taking a hit.
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