HOW BRITAIN WOWED THE WORLD AT JABBEKE CONTINUED

October 1952 AUSTIN-HEALEY 100/4 110.9mph

Donald Healey drives his Austin-Healey sport cars at Jabbeke to rubber-stamp its 110mph+ credentials.

March 1953 SUNBEAM ALPINE 120.13mph

Rootes’ rakish twoseater grabs headlines with Sheila Van Damm and Stirling Moss in Belgium.

May 1953 TRIUMPH TR2 124.88mph

Keen to show it could outpace its rivals, engineer Ken Richardson managed only 104mph at first – because a spark plug lead was loose. Once fixed, it blew the Alpine’s achievement into the hard shoulder and became the fastest 2.0-litre production car on the planet.

October 1953 JAGUAR XK120M 172.41mph

After Spain’s Pegaso swiped the record from Jaguar at Jabbeke with a 151mph Z-102, Jaguar returned with an XK120, featuring a windcheating bubble top, slick tyres and not even a driver’s seat for Jaguar test hero Norman Dewis. The fastest-car crown was convincingly snatched back.