STOLEN JAGUAR XKE IS RECOVERED 46 YEARS LATER

On May 13, 1968, Ivan Schneider’s new Jaguar XKE roadster disappeared from outside his Manhattan apartment. The, then 36-year-old trial lawyer thought he’d lost the car forever.

Earlier this month Schneider got a call from a customs agent, telling him his beloved Jaguar had been found in a shipping container in Los Angeles on its way to the Netherlands.

From his home in Miami Beach, Mr. Schneider, now 82, discusses his excitement of getting his car back, plans to restore it and finally getting behind the wheel once again.

Why did you decide to buy a new XKE back in 1967?

I was a 36-year-old attorney living in Manhattan, I’d become pretty successful, so I decided it was time to buy my first “real” car. It was a gift to myself. I had previously owned MG vehicles, an Austin Healey and decided to trade-in an old Thunderbird to buy the Jaguar roadster. I’ve always loved convertibles and to this day, that’s what I prefer to drive. At the time there was nothing better-looking than the XKE, and there still is not.

What model XKE did you purchase?

It was a 1967 XKE Roadster, gunmetal gray with wire wheels. I bought it in November 1967 from a Jaguar dealer on Long Island - can’t remember which one. I believe I paid around $15,000 for it, which was a lot of money at the time. I just remember it as a wonderful car. Of all the cars I’ve owned - and I’ve owned a lot - it was the prettiest.

You had the car for seven months before it was stolen. How did you use it?

It was my daily driver and I drove it a lot. In seven months I put around 6,000 miles on it. I remember during weekends, I’d get up before sunrise and go off for a drive while no one was around. I’d run out to Long Island and take it up to 100mph on the freeway, it was fun. Even though it was winter, I’d always take the top down, put on a thick coat and scarf, and drive.

Take us back to that fateful night on May 13, 1968 when the car disappeared.

It was around 10pm and for some reason I came out of my apartment on New York’s Upper East Side. I looked across the street and the car was gone, I couldn’t believe it. I started running down 68th where I lived, then across to Fifth and then Madison; you know, in New York, sometimes you forget where you parked. When I couldn’t find it, I went to my local police precinct and filled out a report. I must have given them the VIN number, which is how, 46 years later, they tracked me down.

How did you react when you got the call from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent?

I said “you got to be kidding me”. I thought it was a joke. Never in anyone’s lifetime did I think I’d see this car again. Who would believe a car would show up 46 years later? It was a miracle.

Have you seen the car yet?

Not in the metal. I’ve seen lots of photographs and it looks like it’s going to need a lot of work. I have a great guy in New York who has looked after my cars in the past, and we’ll ship the car to him to do the restoration. We will be changing the color back to the original gunmetal gray.

Any idea how long it might take?

He tells me it may take six months to a year - which is not a bad thing as it’ll be a great life insurance policy for me, making sure I stick around for another year. At 82 you think about these things. If I get it back by the end of next year, it’ll be a great Christmas present to myself.

Will you eventually keep it down in Florida?

Of course. It’ll be a great car to drive around Miami Beach where I live. Right now I have a new Bentley convertible and a Mercedes-Benz SL63, but neither of them are as gorgeous as this vintage Jaguar roadster.