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This Destroyed 1969 Jaguar XKE Roadster Is Still $21K!

By Calum Brown Mar 11, 2019

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By Calum Brown Mar 11, 2019

This crash-damaged 1969 Jaguar XKE 4.2-liter Roadster is up for auction online with an estimate of £16k-20k. That's one expensive restoration project...

Let’s ruffle some feathers – Jaguar’s XKE remains vastly overvalued. The British offering may appear gorgeous, fast and über-cool, but ludicrous asking prices won’t save you from the car’s various failings.

Even the most adoring XKE owner will bashfully admit to lashings of running problems and rust issues. Viewed by the hearty collector as a temperamental alcoholic with the structural rigidity of brittle leaves, you must always treat the Jag with kid gloves. Made from real kids. Preferably, your kids.

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Pristine examples command ungodly sums, while healthy specimens retail on dealer forecourts for eye-watering amounts of cash. It should come as no surprise therefore to find even crash damaged vehicles cost more than a second-hand Range Rover – such as the example we have here.

This particular left-hand drive XKE, boasting matching numbers and well-documented history, currently looks decidedly sorry for itself. Having suffered a severe frontal impact before then living in the elements for Mother Nature to torment, you would imagine this totally-destroyed XKE is on the market for scrap value.

Think again. If you fancy taking on this unquestionably mashed 1969 XKE, you’ll need roughly £16k ($21k). Under the circumstances, such a venture would appear to be the act of an unspeakable lunatic; but there could be method in the madness.

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Although it would be far from cheap, if you had the right connections or skills in which to undertake the majority of restoration work, you could end up with one of pop culture’s most iconic vehicles without the mind-bending financial burden.

This example was reportedly singled out by a marque expert for a comprehensive restoration. Originally built on November 11, 1969, before dispatch to British Leyland New York some nine days later, it still retains the factory Signal Red bodywork and matching red upholstery.

It may currently reside with the rotting charm of damp graveyard flowers, but the XKE does appear to be largely complete. All joking aside, if you are brave and boast the experience to take such a beast on, this abused roadster could prove a worthy project for anybody who has the time and facilities to bring it back to life. Get a closer look here.