Jaguar developed many cool models in the 1980s. But the XJ-S V12 HE Lynx Eventer undoubtedly has the highest degree of fashion, the result of a collaboration with Paolo Gucci.
1987 XJ-S V12 HE Lynx Events by Paolo Gucci was intended to be the first in a series of limited edition cars. But a little legal trouble stopped the project.
Anyone who knows their fashion history (or has seen the movie House of Gucci) knows that there was a real storm in the Gucci family and their luxury companies in the 1980s.
Fashion designer Paolo Gucci spent much of the decade in brutal legal battle with his father, Aldo.
It all ended with him maneuvering the elderly out of the company and then telling the authorities that Aldo had not paid his taxes. Not exactly the perfect son.
A king of fashion
But he was really good at design, and was the one behind Gucci’s famous logo with double G. And of course he wanted to design a car to match his luxury bags.
But then not every brand was enough. The choice fell on the long-established British company Jaguar. Also in the choice of car model, he was picky but eventually stuck to the Jaguar XJ-S Gran Tourer, a car that was as associated with luxury as performance.
Paolo had however did not feel like working with any XJ-S, but eventually got caught the eye Eventsa special shootinbrake version of the model designed by British Lynx.
Unfortunately, the car never went into production despite being shown at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show.
By then, Paola had already left the family business, but the legal problems continued and the first 20 copies simply had to be scrapped.
The company Gucci’s lawyers managed to get through that Paolo was no longer allowed to use the Gucci brand in any way, so in the end it was just one single copy that rolled off the tape.
Two shades of blue
But what did the roaring lid look like then? Well, Paolo chose to paint the car in two shades of blue that are broken off with a thin stripe in orange.
The interior is a jumble of blue-lacquered elm and upholstery in Italian leather tanned by hand.
The instrument panel has modified dials and the leather steering wheel has inlaid semi-precious stones, luxurious as it suggests. But if you are a fashion king, you are.
Sometime along the way, the luxurious copy of Paolo Gucci and Jaguar’s collaboration ended up in the hands of enthusiast Ian Berg in 2015. Since then, the car has undergone a complete renovation and has been restored to its former glory.
1987 XJ-S V12 HE Lynx Events by Paolo Gucci is shown by Bonhams and is part of this year’s edition of the Goodward Festival of Speed Sale writes Robb Report.
See more photos here
Also read: The story behind the movie House of Gucci [Dagens PS]
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