The art of coachbuilding extends beyond the history of the automobile itself. Bespoke, beautiful, one-off and individually styled expressions of the occupant, coachbuilding in itself is an art form, a kinetic work of art.
In the early part of the 20th century, with the advent of the automobile this practice was carried on with some of the most famous artisans creating truly magical works in the medium of metal, wood and leather. Names such as Mulliner Park-Ward, Vanden Plas, Zagato, Ghia and many more would go on to cement their name into the history of style, elegance and luxury.
The most unique and graceful of this culture, is the fabled ‘boat tail’.
Combining the grace, simplicity and flowing nature of boat design, the boat tail would first be seen in 1906 on the bodywork of a Franklin. A bold. forward thinking and progressive look would mature over the next 20-30 years into the iconic ‘boat-tail’ speedsters of the 1930’s and 1940’s with cars like Bentley’s, Rolls Royce’s, Packard’s, Delage’s and Delahaye’s all being fitted with one-off bodywork incorporating this sleek design style.
Now, in April of 2025, we have begun work on the latest of our ‘specials’ – the XK120B.
Under the skillful hand of our master fabricator, Clinton Holdsworth, this car will be carefully and lovingly brought to life in the spirit of what has come before but for the 21st century. XK120B is a project based purely in passion, creativity and perfection – the principles which drive every project here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.
Underneath the one-off, handmade boat tail body lies a freshly rebuilt 1954 Jaguar XK120 chassis which serves as the basis of our latest in the line of 3 bespoke ‘specials’ the team have undertaken since we begun our work in the conservation and celebration of classic cars, their history and their culture 7 years ago.
Every aspect of this project will be bespoke, one-off and handmade specifically for the XK120B as a glorious love-letter to a bygone age.