We’re sure there’s someone out there who can relate to placing an order for something, and then forgetting you’ve ordered it while you wait for it to arrive, only to be surprised when it finally does. Except, in Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher’s case, the something was a one-of-one 1967 Jaguar Mk2 drophead conversion he bought on special order for over $120,000.
Gallagher didn’t know how to drive at the time, and still doesn’t, unfortunately. Which means the classic Jaguar sat in his garage for the better part of 20 years, until Gallagher had it recommissioned by the same company that built it, and then sold the car for a profit.
In 2022, the car was reportedly acquired by Jaguar Land Rover Classic to be used as a promotional vehicle. It’s unfathomable how one could forget about a purchase as big as this one. Least of all a classic British icon like the Jaguar Mk2, especially one that’s been fettled with so skillfully resulting in a one-of-a-kind convertible.
By now, you would have noticed that this isn’t any regular Jaguar Mk2, which was originally only sold as a four-door saloon. As the story goes, Gallagher heard about a specialist company named Vicarage, that put modern running gear in classic cars. He had them cook up something special on a 1967 Jaguar — the same vintage as Gallagher himself. The result was a one-off drophead conversion: a Jaguar Mk2 with the rear doors removed and extended front doors, not to mention all the extensive bodywork to make the proportions look right.
This car started life as a 1967 340 saloon, but wears thicker ‘Armco’ bumpers from the Mk2, along with all the necessary chassis strengthening to make sure it drives as nice as it looks. The car was also fitted with a 3.8-liter engine mated to an automatic, sourced from a Jaguar XJ6 Series III. Inside, red leather and wood paneling complete the rockstar look.
It’s a stunning car, and Gallagher’s first look at it was out of his kitchen window, when the delivery driver pulled up to the house in the early 1990s. As Gallagher jokes, he remembers thinking what a great car it was, and that someday he should get one of his own. A few moments later the delivery driver knocked on his door and reminded him that the car was, in fact, his! Now, considering Gallagher had ordered the Jag when he didn’t know how to drive, and reckoned he would learn in the two years it would take to be built, we suppose he could be forgiven for forgetting about it. The fact that it sat in his garage for years unused because Gallagher decided he didn’t want to driver after all is a little bit of bigger pill to swallow.
In fact, when the car was sent off to be recommissioned at Vicarage, and then later put up for sale, it only had some 2,000 miles on the clock — none with Gallagher behind the wheel. It’s said he had only ever been chauffeured around in it, or been driven around by his wife. The car was then used in a video for Noel’s band High Flying Bird. Everything from the paint, to the brightwork around the car, and the leather interiors were in top condition when it was auctioned off later. The car was then acquired by Jaguar Land Rover Classic in 2022, and was then used to ferry around ‘60s supermodel Twiggy in the late Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Noel Gallagher still refers to the Oasis forgotten Jag as his most expensive mistake, but considering he made a profit off it all these years later, and it’s become a part of rock folklore, we’d say it was a mistake worth making.
