When the Jaguar was clawed by Raymond Loewy's eccentric designs

ONE-OFF We are still discussing the works ever presented for the automotive world in the past by Raymond Loewy, whose also known as the Father of Industrial Design through many of his works in the world's modern industrial. Yes, we have discussed some of his works here, such as the 1941 Loewy Lincoln, the 1957 BMW 507 Loewy Concept, and the 1959 Lancia Loraymo.

1955 Jaguar XK140 Coupe without front bumper as an inhouse study designed by Raymond Loewy and the bodywork built by Boano Carrozzeria. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Now, we will have a glimpse of one of the British's brand car models, the Jaguar XK140 Coupe, after receiving a touch of the Raymond Loewy's designs. Indeed, there is not much information about the Loewy's Jaguar model was completed in 1955.

The original 1955 Jaguar XK140 Fixed Head Coupe. (Picture from: Driving.ca)

As qouted of Carstyling, the project started when the designer together with his Southbend-based automotive design firm was at the peak of their career and presented works at various the major world's automotive show held in Paris, London and New York.

1955 Jaguar XK140 Coupe without front bumper designed by Raymond Loewy while sat on display at the Paris Auto Salon in October 1955. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Uniquely, the project was originally commissioned by Ferrari to be undertaken secretly by Loewy Design in order to produce a design study for the Ferrari Europa in 1954. At the time, Loewy was looking for an unbroken line flowing from the hood to the back, along the lines of Virgil Exner's "dart" theme. As a result, the body line was developed before the trim.

1955 Jaguar XK140 Coupe without front bumper as an inhouse study designed by Raymond Loewy and the bodywork built by Boano Carrozzeria. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

The pointy nose gave the Southbend-based auto designers  problems in locating the headlights position, and in designing the grille and bumpers as well. Then they tried to make three or four different grille designs before settling on the final version, ie the chromed grille resembeled the "waterfall" effect one. Soon after that a 1:4 scaled clay model without the front bumper was built in South Bend, and sent to Boano Carrozzeria in Italy for construction of the actual body.

The Jaguar XK140 Coupe after got a few modifications in the 1956 with a new bumper and two foglights in the front. (Picture from: TheAvanti.com)

However, later the news about those projects leaked and was heard by Pininfarina and soon they voiced a complaint to Enzo Ferrari. This put  Ferrari into a dilemma, and then the prancing horse logoed auto manufacturer big boss decided better to part ways with Loewy rather than spoil the relationship with his favorite carrozzeria. And left the halfway and uncompleted car design project, then Loewy decided to proceed it as an in-house design exercise.

The Jaguar XK140 Coupe after got a few modifications in the 1956 shows nice proportions of the right sideview. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

To finish the car design process, Loewy then bought a Jaguar XK140 Coupe (chassis number # 814096) which is considered to have almost similar wheelbase and track as a Ferrari. The Jag was stripped down to leave only the chassis, then the Boano Carrozzeria's bodywork attached upon it. That's not 100 percent fits to its original design, there are a few adjustments have to be made to accommodate the slightly shorter wheelbase and a taller dimension of the XK engine (thus making the hood pop up a little).

The Jaguar XK140 Coupe after got a few modifications in the 1956 with huge window, bumper frames tail light lenses at rear. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

After finished, the car brought to debut at the Paris Auto Salon in October 1955, but it did not attract much attention. At the time, it was displayed without a bumper, due to the designers were still having trouble determining its position and shapes. The car was shown again at the next Paris Auto Salon with some updates before being brought back to New York in the 1956.

Archie Moore who was the then heavyweight champion behind the wheel of the Loewy's Jaguar XK140 in September 1957. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

In 1957, Loewy was persuaded to sell those car to the famous boxer Archie Moore who was the then heavyweight champion. Reportedly, the agreed price was $25,000, which was a real big number at the time (estimated over $200,000 under today's money). According to Jalopnik, the car was destroyed in the fire in 1957, since then it was never seen again.😭 That's too bad.*** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CARSTYLING.RU | AUTOMOBILIAC | COACHBUILD | JALOPNIK ]

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