70 YEARS OF THE XK120

LAUNCHED AT THE Earls Court motor show in 1948, the beautiful XK120 was not intended as a production car at all but rather as a show car for the magnificent new XK twin-cam straight-six. But chassis 660001 created such interest that William Lyons was persuaded to put it into production. A good thing too, as it led to some of the best Jaguars ever created, and became a great competition success. The Motor tested the prototype in 1949, reporting a top speed of 124.6mph and 0-60mph in 10 seconds. Supercar figures.

XK120s were hurriedly put into production, the first 242 handmade with wooden frames and aluminium panels. The process was properly productionised in early 1950, with bodies in steel. The first production roadster, chassis 670003, was delivered to actor Clark Gable. The 120mph XK120 was produced in three guises: first as an open two-seater, followed by a fixed-head coupé in 1951, then a drophead coupé from 1953. The 120 was replaced by the XK140 in 1954. The XK120’s first race victory was in the Daily

Express One-Hour Production Car Race, at Silverstone in August 1949, driven by Leslie Johnson. In 1950 an XK won the inaugural Pebble Beach Road Race in California driven by Phil Hill. At Le Mans that year an XK120 was in second place for two hours and would have won if the clutch hadn’t packed up. This led to the development of the XK120C – the legendary C-type.