Bertone turned this Jaguar XK150 into such an Italian's wheeled sculpture

Rare ONES - Jaguar as one of the leading automotive manufacturers from England certainly has lots of beautiful car lines that have succeeded in catapulting its name in the automotive world. And one of them is the Jaguar XK150, This car was produced by Jaguar between 1957 and 1961 as the successor to the XK140.

Jaguar commissioned Gruppo Bertone in 1957 to build Fixed-Head Coupés prototypes over the three XK150 chassis. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

As quoted from Wikipedia, initially it was only available in Fixed Head Coupé (FHC) and Drophead Coupé (DHC) versions. The roadster without full weather equipment which had begun the XK line was launched as the XK150 OTS (Open Two-Seater) in 1958. Minimal rear seats were fitted in the coupés. The open two-seater was fitted for the first time with wind-up windows in taller high-silled doors, but retained the very simple folding roof of its predecessors.

The Jaguar XK150 by Bertone has an impressive front end, enveloping Jaguar's high performance engine combined with smooth side wing sections. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

So in 1957, of the many XK150s that were produced, it turned out that there were 3 chassis sent to a well-known Turin-based coachbuilder named Gruppo Bertone, or commonly known as Bertone, to be bodied as a prototype of Fixed-Head Coupés. They were reportedly meant to be the replacement for the XK150 and wore an "XKE" badge on their rear flanks.

The Jaguar XK150 by Bertone's interior is thick with the luxury feel of British aristocracy, interspersed with exclusive Bertone's trim. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

As we all know, Bertone is an automotive company specializing in the design, coachbuilding and manufacturing of a limited number of car models. Besides that, Bertone also has a distinctive styling, with most of the designs having a 'resemblance' that stands out even to different car brands. It is also known that this Turin-based coachbuilder has designed various car models for Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Citroën, Ferrari, Fiat, Iso, Lancia, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Volvo, and others.

One of the three Jaguar XK150 by Bertone resides as a part of the collection of a museum in the Netherlands. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

So when it was commissioned by Jaguar, what Bertone did to apply its distinctive style to the Jaguar XK150 chassis was to experiment with several B.A.T car concepts, which is so famously attached to several Alfa Romeo concept cars to date. And the entire work process was under the direction of a famous Italian designer named Franco Scaglione, who at that time was still working for Bertone.

The Jaguar XK150 by Bertone with chassis number of #S834365 was sold for €862,500 at an auction event titled The Zoute Sale 2022 held by Bonham in October 2022. (Picture from: ClassicDriver)

For such reason Bertone should be combined their styling with a distinctive British design language on this XK150. As the result, there's a streamlined tail and impressive frontal styling, wrap around Jaguar's high-performance engines are combined with smooth side wing sections.

At the rear, Bertone has put a touch reminiscent of the design lines of the Maserati 3500 GT. It should be underlined, this is a car inspired by a love of luxury as well as speed, without neglecting the influence of Bertone's distinctive Italian styling. Meanwhile, for the interior which is thick with the luxury feel of British aristocracy, interspersed with exclusive Bertone's trim.

The Jaguar XK150 by Bertone with chassis number of #S834365 remains in truly gorgeous condition, with its bright chrome work contrasting marvellously against its black coachwork. (Picture from: ClassicDriver)

Jaguar ended up replacing the XK150 with the E-Type with the amount of production until the end of its production period in October 1960 was quite a lot, namely around 9,382 vehicles, consisted 2,265 Roadsters Open-Two Seater (OTS), 4,445 Fixed Head Coupés (FHC), and 2,672 Drop Head Coupés (DHC).

Now, one of Bertone's red Jaguar XK150s is part of the collection of a museum in the Netherlands. Recently in October 2022, one of these cars with chassis number of #S834365 was sold for €862,500 at an auction event titled The Zoute Sale 2022 held by Bonham. Well, there is remained one more unit whose whereabouts are still unknown. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CLASSICDRIVER | ULTIMATECARPAGE | WIKIPEDIA ]

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