Thornley Kelham

The Jaguar XK European GT Coupé & Roadster reimagine the Jaguar XK120, the car that launched Jaguar's sports car lineage in 1950s Hollywood, driven by stars including Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart and proven on track with a one-two finish on its 1949 Silverstone debut before running at Le Mans the following year. Chief designer Paul Howse has reworked the original proportions with a more muscular stance, wider front and rear arches and greater curvature through the bodysides, while the Coupé additionally drops its roofline by more than two and a half inches for a lower, more purposeful silhouette; the Roadster instead keeps the open-top format, aimed at recapturing 1950s open-air motoring with modern reliability. Every body is hand-formed from aluminium alloy using English wheels, a process that alone takes over 2,000 hours per car and contributes to a total build time exceeding 5,000 hours, with panels assembled on a precision jig and seam welded for strength before being paired with an uprated engine, chassis and a fully bespoke interior tailored to each client.

from £550,000 + donor

Designed by Hal Walter for a long-standing Thornley Kelham client, the Porsche 911 European RS takes its inspiration from the 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 and its RSR 2.8 racing derivative, benchmarked against the modern 997 GT3 RS 4.0 to combine old-school character with contemporary drivability. The chassis is comprehensively reworked with bespoke front wishbones derived from the modern GT3, JRZ Motorsport four-way adjustable coilovers with Eibach springs, a hollow adjustable anti-roll bar and a quicker Quaife steering rack at 2.5 turns lock to lock, while the cabin pairs Connolly leather and Alcantara trim with one-piece carbon fibre Recaro seats, a Momo Prototipo Black Edition wheel and a re-engineered instrument panel behind the G50 six-speed manual gearbox. Magneto Magazine's Elliot Hughes called it the most engaging car he had ever driven, and the car has since become one of the most talked about entries in the wider 911 restomod field.

from £575,000 + donor

Due to launch in spring 2026, the Porsche 356 European SL revisits the original 356 chassis from around 1950, a period when American importer Max Hoffman was introducing the United States to European sports cars from Porsche, BMW and Alfa Romeo, and Porsche itself sold 356s in that market under the "European" name. Thornley Kelham's programme is built on a thorough reassessment of the 356's chassis strength and structure, front and rear suspension, steering and braking, with the resulting reengineering able to be tailored to each individual car's intended use, whether that leans toward comfortable road driving or a sharper, more dynamic specification.

from £580,000 + donor

The car that started the entire European programme, the Lancia Aurelia B20GT “Outlaw“ was built as a sold-out series of nine, inspired by the lowered-roof version of the Bracco Aurelia that competed with such success in 1951. Each of the nine was finished to its owner's individual specification, and the series went on to draw praise from major collectors and the motoring press for its styling, aerodynamic refinement and quality of finish. As the programme evolved, the final three cars were offered in European CSL specification, built around a 3.0 litre V6, a modern transaxle gearbox, a limited-slip differential, uprated suspension and a hand-formed all-aluminium body, representing the fullest expression of the Aurelia Outlaw concept before Thornley Kelham expanded the idea across Jaguar and Porsche.

from £400,000 + donor