there are replicas and then there are replicas!
its OK when the likes of Suffolk build a replicas and sell it as such a. The alterations mods give it away at being exactly what it is.
One of the problems is that there are several maybe up to 50 XK’s in the world being passed of as real cars that technically complete replicas ie new chassis new body a number of these getting towards 10 cars are suppose to be alloy XK120’s where identities have been pinched from cars thought to be no longer with us. Its a bit inconvenient when the genuine article comes to life! The Jabekke XK120 falls into this category the cars is in real terms a complete replica ie new chassis new body there was never a car to restore.
Another problem is restorers who replace chassis with reproduction chassis in XK’s really it isn’t the original car anymore.
terry
these 3 cars at auction are going to be critical in what the market thinks of these replicas from Jaguar!
Now that is lovely!
Gtjoey1314
Peter, I never said that a Lynx was a tool room copy - ever. Lynx are the guts of an E-type reconfigured in a D-type shape, and no more. Yes, Lynx have built solid axle cars, as some clients asked for, but in the main they have the E-type IRS cage. And having driven both the IRS is far more comfortable. RS Panels were building a short nose D-type at £600,000 plus VAT when I was there a year or so ago, and there are many others who will do the same for you, including Pearsons. Bridport John built one many years back and that one is now in Glasgow. But a replica in the car sense does not replicate; it has the same shape, but is far cheaper to build and maintain than a proper facsimile. It is so we can at least have the sensations that a real car would give, no more. It is our way of living the dream. As said, Adrian Cocking built some great cars, as does Phil Cottrell, but neither lay claim to being real cars, and nor has Lynx, in any incarnation since 1968, done so. Terry, I have bookmarked the Elkhart Lake auction for some time, and am eager to see just what these “continuation” cars fetch. Will they bomb or will they fly? You tell me. I’ve always said that they were built in two parts ; £700,000 for the car, and £700,000 for the chassis plate. Time will tell though
Terry,
Do you remember when Terry Larson discovered C Type 023(I think) that someone had built a car around using a few original parts and somehow got it titled as an original car. As I recall Terry ended up buying the replica from the man and took the few original parts off and , I assume, sold it as a replica.
After MGCJAG posted my original Realm here is my next one 
Tony, I wasn’t referring to you at all -merely the blurb on the otherwise wonderful ‘Nouvelle Lynx’ website that someone linked to. I quoted their descriptive phrase verbatim. It’s absolutely par for the course overstatement from practically every ad I’ve ever read. As my O-level English teacher could have said (but didn’t)
“Iconic” is to “E-type” as “Toolroom” is to D replicas. Many are called such, but few are true. Simon Dunford, Jerry Booen and Dave Brown will all build you one and trade amongst each other for specialty parts like carbs, wheels, manifolds etc. Happily they will all trade with oiks like me and are the ‘Fred in the Shed’ suppliers Kev Riches needs to assemble the Jaguar Classic 99% toolroom copies.
You’ll remember the media frenzy when the James Hull collection came onto the market, headlined by the D, C and XKSS cars - which nobody bothered to report were not original examples but true copies involving the above builders. Those deserved the adjective ‘toolroom’.
I’m a huge fan of yours, not an antagonist. I agree with all your comments (at least the ones that I can remember ten minutes later!).
The first step on my own ‘slippery slope’ from sensible Realms, into the dark world of bottomless money pit of futile authenticity, concerned the choice of 4-trailing arm live axle. I hope I’ll find out next year that it was not too stupid a choice over the vastly superior IRS in my two prior replicas.
I think THATS the fun of this new section
The cars are “ It is what it is”
Fun , period look and personal input in upgrades or ideas!
Look All Ferrari Gtos Original GT40s and or Jaguar C type Dtype are a little original , a little replaced parts and a lot of smoke and mirrors in between
They were old used up race cars, JUMK as Redman ,Hobbs or Dewis used to say
So to me take them as all tributes to the reall thing which are not really fun to drive at 40 million compared to 200 grand!
IMHO
Enjoy the ride
Ps to me the heritage d is a tool room copy
Just lovely
Gtjoey1314
But love chucking around in the lynx!
The market had better include people who either just want static ornaments or track day fun. Either that, or people with crafty lawyers to overcome the lack of title/registration documents.
I know of at least one Jaguar continuation vehicle that was ‘reverse engineered’ with an old engine and probably other parts (I didn’t ask too many questions!) in order to sneak under the DVLA registration radar…
One assumes that all the new parts went back on afterwards.
Just to get a little perspective here into prices especially if you fancy building a GRP C type with a great tubular chassis and useing an XJ6 as a doner vehicle for most of the running gear and engine just like the two Realm C types photos in posts above then you can for way less than $100k…in fact this would buy you one already built…these are just fun cars…we dont all have $7million for a real one and at the end of the day if it aint real were all in the same boat with a replica…but huge curb appeal for joe public…Steve…Edit after reading Peters post above…im building a Realm…that will be correctly registered as are the 2 Realms photoed above
Personally I like the idea of a GRP car, as its far more durable than an alloy car yes alloy has the better pub bragging rights, the ride of these cars are and will be supierior with its IRS, and the drivability of a car with modern fueling and ignition together with a modern gearbox gives a superb drive. So whats not to like. I enjoy the builds of these cars so as Steve said if you want to pay considerably less these are the cars to make offers on I’m all ears LOL. My original car featured at the Silverstone classic on the Mike Brewers Car clinic stand so I feel that replicas are being accepted in their own right
My son Tim after we returned from a wet rally in Belgium in the first Realm.
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My second Realm in which I used to commute to my main client at the time. Photo taken from the art deprtment where there were several classic car nuts.
Remember it well saw the chassis as found in LA BY TERRY at his place and in fact purchased the 120fhc that came with it.
Terry
realise and know all the problems and a number have been sold to jag dealers as display items.
Once a car is somewhere it can be trailered to event or here in Australia a trade plate fitted to move car so there is always a way around government beauracy.
I certainly know one factory replica D type that the owner who has a real one has made modifications with engineering certificates to officially register in the UK.
It is always great fun watching people sidle up to the car and surreptitiously reach out and feel the wheel arch to see if it is alloy or fibreglass. I watched the chairman of one well known club discussing my short noseD-type with friends and they came to the conclusion that, since it was used and patinated, it was a real D-type.They asked me, seeing me open the door of the car, if it was a real one. I replied in the affirmative, with, a second or two later, “a real Lynx D-type”. Sometimes, it is better to tell an untruth, and I remember so well, while on a rally in the Alps, a very old gentleman coming up to me with his family excitedly talking about how he had seem the cars race at Reims and how long it had been since he had seen one. it would have broken his heart not to let him believe.
I shall be going to the new Lynx factory to have a look around once this current crisis has passed us by. The foreman there, Andy Thomas, built the chassis of my C-type, copied from the Aubrey Finburgh car which was alongside mine, so I have confidence that he will bring a substantial degree of expertise to the new Lynx, an expertise that was so sadly lacking in the Czechoslovakian days.
Here’s a photo I took at XK70 with the two XKSS together - mine and the Czech car. Bonnet shape wrong, mouth, bumpers all so badly done. Yet one sold on Bring a Trailer in the States a few months back for $480,000, and of all things LHD. A fool and his money.
They had also brought a low drag (I have loads of photos of replicas of these should you wish to see them) and a D-type and it seemed to me that the shells had been made by a bunch of monkeys on speed.
Tony, I’d love to see a thread where you show photos and point out the errors!
The two most obvious errors to me are to be seen in D-type replicas, but you have to know your cars to spot them, and then it stands out a mile. For example, have a look at these photos:-
Can you spot two big differences?
The fairing and the profile of the front wing?
50% so not bad. The rear fin is, on a Realm, flat, whereas the other car, a Lynx, shows the fin rising by 7 degrees and the latter is correct. The second is the size of the wheels and again, if you know what you are looking for, very easy to spot. The first car has 15" wheels and the second 16". How do I know? Always look at the rear wheels; if you can see the top of the rim they are 15" and if the top of the rim is hidden in the wing 16", and that is the correct size. Many people use 15" because they are not only cheaper but the tyres are a lot cheaper too.
The Realm has a long nose front on a short nose rear. Not good!! Not necessary either, as Adrian will do any combo the customer wants - preferably a believable correct combination.
The car in post 31 has the correct Realm short nose bonnet i.e. no brake ducts, shorter/blunter front and 2 small/1 large louvres (not two large).
Apart from size another major wheel giveaway is the thickness of metal at the wheel holes. Cast wheels, or cast centres with separate rims are ribbed inside if you can see the back. If you can only see the front face the holes are between ribs, so the material is visibly about 10-12 mm thick when you look at the holes. Correct wheels are pressed from approx 5 mm plate, Lynx did make some wheels using a cast alloy center riveted to a rolled steel rim and they look much nicer than the cast wheels, but I’ve only ever seen them in 15" (to suit the donor E-type geometry I suppose). They presumably made them in 16" as well Tony?
I checked Dunford’s site and the correct wheels have now reached about GBP 1450 each, plus 20% VAT. You could get five Realm wheels for the price of one repro one (as shown above in posts 31 & 37) and they would bolt straight onto the donor XJ hubs without having to pay another 2 grand for peg drive hubs. So unless you are going for a deep six-figure alloy car, paying 5 x 350 sounds a lot more sensible than over ten grand (5 x 1700 plus 2000). Realm do actually make peg drive adapters for XJ hubs and their dummy presser plates and spinners are great value too for a very good look.