For the last two years 13 staff at Classic Motor Cars (CMC) have been working on a top secret project – the restoration of a one-off Pininfarina bodied XK120 SE which is to be unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours on Sunday 20 August.

On Friday 4 August, the team, which had been supported by everybody on the company’s 60+ workforce, were pictured with the car – “under wraps”.

The car was first delivered to a Mr Max Hoffman and unveiled at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show. Hoffman was an Austrian-born, New York-based importer of luxury European automobiles into the US during the 1950s. He was a real petrol-head and inspired the production and refinement of several vehicles from the main manufacturers, which earned him entry into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2003.

There is little trace of the car’s history, but CMC is certain there was only one XK120 by Pininfarina produced, which makes this one of the rarest Jaguars in existence.

CMC purchased the car from a German gentleman who bought it in the US in 1978 with the intention of restoring it. Unfortunately, he never got round to it and eventually decided to sell, CMC took on the challenge and has spent thousands of hours carrying out a full nut and bolt restoration.