Random Car Spotting: Audi TTS & classic Jaguars in Hahndorf

2011.

A bit over a week ago my girlfriend Sally and I went for a bit of a hills run up to Hahndorf in my Cefiro, to go to the Beerenberg Farm for some jams and related condiments. Being a very pleasant Sunday afternoon

You can see more details about the Beerenberg Strawberry Farm on their website here: http://www.beerenberg.com.au/

Trundling down the main street of Hahndorf, a beautiful white 1950s Jaguar caught my eye, parked on the side of the road all by itself. I considered stopping for photos but as it was getting close to 5pm, getting to the Beerenberg Farm store before it closed was more of a priority.

After getting to the shop and picking up some jams, we jumped back in the car and headed back through the main street towards the freeway. While I was planning to get back to the Jaguar for a few photos, a startlingly orange Audi TTS stopped me in my tracks, so I pulled up to get a couple of shots.

All photos taken with a Nikon D90 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens.

So after taking these few quick snaps, I walked back to my car. I took a few photos of the Cefiro for good measure since I was already out of the car with my camera. 

While I was taking photos of the rear end, this very tidy green Jaguar Mark 2 rolled into my viewfinder. You can see it in the background of the photo above, just on top of the right hand side of my roof line.

The driver looked to be an older chap in his 70s. After making a u-turn, he went back the way he came, and I got back into the car. As soon as I plonked myself down into the driver's seat, a sizeable white vehicle loomed into view, an American model Ford F250 pickup. I quickly raised the camera back up to my eye and fired off a few shots. It looks kind of funny, as it completely dwarfs the Hyundai station wagon and Ford Fiesta hatch alongside.

By this point it had been quite a while since we'd passed the old white Jag on the way into town, so I was hoping it was still there as I started the car and headed back toward the freeway. After passing through the busy section of little shops and restaurants, I was relieved to see the Jag still parked in the same spot on the side of the road. After Sally handed me the D90 again, I looked in the side mirror to check for traffic before opening the door, and saw a nice old Mercedes trundling along with headlights ablaze, which was worth a quick snap. I'm not a Mercedes expert, but I think it's a W108. 

So once again I got out of the car, and walked over to the Jag for a closer look. It was an absolutely stunning piece of machinery. It had clearly been lovingly restored, with the paint, trim and interior looking as it would have fresh off the showroom floor. At this point I wasn't quite sure what year and model it was; my first thought was an XK120, but the body styling was fairly distinctive as being a 1950s era car, with the smooth, rounded and elegant flowing lines, panels and general body shape. It's one of those classically stylish cars where some people with no interest in cars may well be able to appreciate it as a piece of automotive art. 

After spending a couple of minutes admiring and taking photos of the Jag from the rear, I heard a woman's voice behind me say 'Hello?'. I turned around to see a nice looking couple in their 50s, and asked if the car was theirs. After answering yes, I complimented them on what a beautiful car it was, and spent a couple of minutes chatting about it, cars in general and the fact I do some professional automotive photography. The man who owned the car said it was a 1959 model, I can't remember if he mentioned the model as well, but after a bit of research I'm pretty sure it's an XK150 Fixed Head coupe.

I quickly grabbed a couple of shots of the front of the car as well, so the owners could be on their way. 

I walked back behind the car as they got in, and started a video going to capture the sound of it starting and driving off. Being a old motor, they're not a fan of running smoothly on cold starts sometimes, and after bit of a stumble and the engine stalling briefly, it roared back to life and burbled its way down the tree lined street into the distance.