This is the nose of a Jaguar XK 120. As you can see it is not a mollycoddled trailer queen. That slight patina lends it an air of authenticity you don’t see in a museum exhibit, or a collector’s “Garage Mahal”.
So no, this is not a posed shot of a buffed to a high gloss car, in a perfectly lit photo studio. This is a car sitting in a parking lot, whose engine is still ticking from the heat coming off it. Raindrops are drying on the bonnet, leaving behind dust and dirt. It smells of oil and dead bugs. It is real.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
THAT’S the metric, to me, that measures a car. there are *damn few* cars that really should not be driven much, if at all (The “King Alphonso” Hispano-Suiza, the 7 Bugatti Royales, *the* “Octoauto,” and perhaps the Christies).
Other than that those cars that get driven, get dirty, tink and leak ARE the real deal.
I hope to follow in your talented footsteps when I start driving Tweety, and providing you with good pix of a car, well and truly used.
Thanks for what you do, CG!