Electrified Jaguar XK120 drives upcycling upmarket

Silverstone-based UK classic car electrification specialist, Lunaz Design, has delivered a uniquely restored and modified 1952 Jaguar XK120 to the customer who commissioned it at the Concours on Savile Row in London. 

The car uniquely offers a leather-free interior that utilises ocean clean-up materials. This includes carpets that are woven from reclaimed nylon sea-fishing nets. 

Additionally, the backing of these carpets is upcycled from marine plastic pollution such as plastic bottles. For every tonne of the raw material produced to make the materials that make this particular carpet, seven barrels of crude oil are saved and nearly seven tonnes of carbon are not emitted says Lunaz Design. 

Every classic car by Lunaz Design undergoes a full bare metal restoration. This takes place at the company’s home in Silverstone, England. This facility has quickly grown into the largest upcycling and electrification campus in Britain says the company. 

In the case of the XK120 commission, the client visited Lunaz Design throughout the process to understand the way that alternatives to leather and innovative upcycled materials perform from a visual and comfort perspective. 

This led to a decision by the customer to create an entirely leather-free interior specified to complement the bespoke Obsidian Blue exterior. This is painted in-house at Silverstone and is one of the many colours available to every Lunaz Design customer.

This very close collaboration yielded an interior finished in an innovative blend of textiles, traditional woods and upcycled materials. For example, the seat frame is constructed from recyclable aluminium. This offers both a contemporary aesthetic and an alternative to traditional classic material palettes while delivering the functional requirements of the seat. 

The seats are then finished in a high-quality fabric material. Subtle reference to the driver-focus of this car is made through a black stripe to the driver’s seat. 

The Burr Walnut veneer wood is given contemporary aesthetic through a satin lacquer. Wherever possible, material from the 70-year-old vehicle was restored to minimise the requirement to create new materials. This extends to the substrates which were then re-veneered in sustainably sourced timber. 

Lunaz Design’s team of engineers have integrated the latest infotainment and audio technology into the vehicle. This includes the placement of a screen installed with Apple CarPlay to operate the client’s preferred navigation and music streaming apps.

An independent environmental audit found that, once a Lunaz Design vehicle undergoes the brand’s process of re-engineering and electrification, it reclaims more than 80% of the embedded carbon of the original car’s manufacture.

This approach represents a sustainable means to keep the most celebrated cars in history on the road while addressing the other key barriers to classic car ownership which are usability and reliability. 

The electrified Jaguar XK120 was unveiled at the Concours on Savile Row, a street universally understood as the global centre of traditional and contemporary tailoring. 

Lunaz Design’s presence at this celebration of the ‘art of bespoke’ was shared with Arthur Sleep, maker of bespoke shoes.  

Arthur Sleep’s status as the most technologically advanced brand on Savile Row is confirmed by its micro-factory approach. Its workshop is housed directly below its atelier at Number 7 Savile Row. Arthur Sleep clients are taken through a full measurement, material selection and design process. Their commission is then communicated directly to the on-site factory where it is made on the same day. 

Ahead of the first drive, Lunaz Design chief executive David Lorenz handed over a pair of bespoke shoes to the owner of the car. These were made from the same textile material as the seats of the Jaguar XK120. The owner was measured as part of the handover experience and the shoes were handed over at the end of his day at the Concours on Savile Row.  

“In handing over this electrified and upcycled Jaguar XK120 we conclude a project that has empowered our designers to re-imagine the traditional classic car material palette,” Lorenz says. 

“We are proud to take materials and create processes that significantly reduce the global impact of enjoying these cars by unlocking the power of upcycling.”

Lunaz Design is in production with the most celebrated British marques, this include the Aston Martin DB6, Bentley Continental (S1, S2 and S3), Jaguar XK120,140,150, Range Rover Classic and Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Rolls-Royce Phantom V.