Jaguar XK 120 Supersonic by Ghia - Reviews & Testimonials

'With huge colour images of 679768 and many archive pictures, this first book in Porter Press's Coachbuilt series is worth every penny of the £35 asking price.'

'A whole book about one specific car - and yes, car... not type of car - is never an easy task and we have seen examples that have got more than tenuously linked to their subject in places, but Richard Heseltine's Jaguar XK 120 Supersonic manages to keep the right side of the line and provides some intriguing insight and context to a unique vehicle.

'Chassis 679768, the featured player in this book, certainly wowed its current custodian-a connoisseur who plunked down over $2 million at a 2015 auction. The car's original owner may well have been a connoisseur too, he certainly thought of himself that way, but his checkbook couldn't keep up with this good taste and he had to skip town with his bills unpaid and his cars repossessed (he had also ordered the sister car). The story alone would be worth reading the book for but there's a lot more, and it's all superlatively done and ticks many boxes.

'To appreciate how well thought out this new book is you only have to consider that it has a truly fine index-just how fine you can tell by, for instance, the fact that all "Ghia-styled cars" are bundled under one entry, among whose various subdivisions is one for all Supersonics. The attention to detail is evident throughout.

'UK readers will have had plenty of occasion to come across Heseltine's name, as a contributor on automotive subjects to such mainstream newspapers as The Guardian and specialist car magazines such as Octane and many others. He is most adept as turning a phrase, stringing a story together, and both having a point of view and a frame of reference.

'For the riches it offers, the book is quite absurdly cheap. Hopefully this is a harbinger of the other books to come in this series. Heseltine says he's always loved cars, and everything to do with them. He does take on custom writing/research projects so if you have a special car, get him on the horn.'

'TYPICALLY wonderful-quality print and images from Porter Press and, with subject matter this stunning, it's easy to see why you'd make the investment. It's visually pleasing, but also great to read, telling the story of a wonderful coachbuilt car, it's conception and journey, plus the history of one specific model through the years. Well worth buying.'

'Richard Heseltine, is endlessly authoritative, though the book hardly qualifies as light reading: it can be intellectual to the point of considerable density. Imagery is very strong, however essential for a book focused on design, with many photos from Heseltine's own collection. A good read for the Jaguar know-it-all, or for the Italian coachbuilding buff.'

Guild of Motoring Writers

'At first glance this large format/100-page work may look like a coffee table book, but that would be to misjudge it completely: it is clear that much research has gone into its compilation and the narrative is quite fascinating, covering a rich swathe of design history.  Typically compelling is the story of Giovanni Savonuzzi who after leaving Ghia went on to work at Chrysler which had patronised Ghia since the 1930s. Appropriately Savonuzzi worked on the famous Chrysler turbine cars before returning disillusioned to Turin and finishing his career more as engineer than stylist at Fiat. The work is nicely rounded off with chapters on other coach built Jaguars and the recent restoration of the Supersonic, the central subject of the book. Intriguingly, one the Supersonic owners, though she denied it, was a certain Bridget Bardot, described as a ‘silver screen goddess.'

Coach built Cars is well illustrated both with period pictures and exceptional studio photography of the restored Supersonic XK120. A fine effort and encouraging start to what promises be to a rewarding series on a field relatively little covered in recent automotive literature.'

'As the first in a new series of books, I think Jaguar XK120 Supersonic has set the bar high for it's successors.'