COPPA MILANO-SANREMO
ITALY IN A NEWLY RESTORED JAGUAR XK150 3.8S
Jeff Gault took his freshly restored 1960 Jaguar XK150 3.8 ’S’ to Italy to test it out, supported by Alex and Alistair from CKL. First stop was the one-day Franciacorta in the wine country at the beginning of April, followed by the Coppa Milano Sanremo a week later.
Jaguar launched the “S” version of the 3.8 engine for the XK150 in September of 1959. Jeff’s car was built in April 1960, and is one of just 41 FHC produced in LHD, out of a total production of 283 XK150 3.8 litre “S”.
The car was sold by Jaguar distributor Emil Frey in Zurich to Dr. Norman P. Schenker for who took “Personal Export Delivery” of the car on 17/05/1960 at the Jaguar factory in Coventry, England with UK registration 4999 DU. Jeff acquired the car at a Bonhams auction in 2023. The car was fully restored by CKL in 2024 including a careful rebuild of the original 3.8 litre “S” engine.
2025 Franciacorta Historica
The event took competitors on a 200 km route through Franciacorta, Lake Iseo and Val Trompia, including some unpaved sections along the way.
“Jaguars are built tough. The route took us down some real farm roads and the car could barrel along the gravel at speed”
- Jeff Gault
2025 Coppa Milano-Sanremo
This classic event started at Monza, including laps and regularity trials at the Autodromo, which gave Jeff the chance to test the car’s performance.
“The engine is so strong, it makes over 300 hp, and the torque in third gear from 4,000rpm feels immense”
- Jeff Gault
Dinner that evening was at the historic Riva shipyard on Lake Iseo. The following day they started from the Riva Shipyard in Sarnico and headed to Rapallo via Piedmont. This gave Jeff the opportunity to explore the upper speed ranges on the Autostrada.
“The car was fantastic - it stormed down the autostrada feeling totally solid and together”
- Jeff Gault
The final days of the four day event included Porto Carlo Riva, the Yacht Club della Marina in Loano, Sanremo and the Palazzo Mazzetti in Asti. Jeff was full of praise for the quality of the restoration, and the newly restored car performed faultlessly. Jeff is enjoying life with his XK150S to the full.
Photo credit: Tom Macaulay, Odyssey Pictures
He’s shipping the car to the US now for the Colorado Grande, and then has a roadtrip planned across Canada from West to East and then back home to Massachusetts.