Forgotten cars from TV series - John Steed's Jaguar XJ 12 C - auctioned!
The TV series "Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone" was one of the most popular of its kind in the 1960s. No wonder, then, that resourceful producers in the 1970s came up with the idea of producing a hopefully equally successful successor in the form of" The New Avengers" . However, this only partially succeeded with the series broadcast in 1976 and 1977. While Emma Peel was replaced by Purdy and Gambit was added as a new extra, gentleman agent John Steed (alias Patrick Macnee) remained as a common element.
He was given a Jaguar XJ 12C (license plate NWK 60P) to drive. Chassis 2G1008BW was the 12th XJ 12 C to be produced and was still a pre-production car. Broadspeed was allowed to fit a body kit consisting of wide fenders, front spoiler and large wheels.
After the end of filming, the car, which Patrick McNeed did not enjoy due to its laborious steering, changed hands several times until it was parked in the 1990s. However, it was not possible to speak of careful mothballing, as today the car is in barn-find condition, i.e. in need of complete restoration.
However, this did not stop the highest bidder at the H&H auction at the Imperial War Museum Duxford from bidding six times the estimated price and paying £69,440 (96,520 euros or CHF 101,566).
This made the Jaguar XJ 12 C the high-flyer of the H&H auction, the results of which can be viewed online.
