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A Brief History of the Jaguar XK120, the Fastest Production Car of Its Time

Previously known as SS Cars, a nameplate with negative connotations in the wake of the German Reich’s atrocities, Jaguar unveiled the XK120 at the London Motor Show in October 1948. Not only were the Brits presented with a rakish automobile that looked - and still is - absolutely stunning, but it was also the fastest production car in the world.
Jaguar XK120 28 photos
Photo: Bonhams
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Designed in three months by Jaguar’s founder William Lyons and Jaguar's chief engineer and technical director William Heynes, the XK120 is called this way due to its powerplant and top speed. The venerable XK engine that survived until 1992 enabled a top speed of 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour), which is tremendously impressive for that era.

The first 242 examples of the breed feature aluminum body panels beaten over ash wood framing, a labor-intensive production technique that’s alright for a low-production vehicle. Be that as it may, Jaguar originally advertised the XK120 for the very reasonable suggested retail price of £1,263 before options, which is almost £49,000 adjusted for inflation. By comparison, the most affordable F-Type on sale right now costs £56,035.

Mind-boggling value for money is undesirable in the eyes of snobs. You know, those guys and gals that can’t stop talking about how much they’ve spent on that one-of-one paint job of their brand-new luxobarge. But nevertheless, the XK120 turned out into a surprise hit with the most well-to-do part of society.

Chassis number 670003, for example, left the Holbrook Lane production line back in June 1949. A few months later, Hollywood superstar Clark Gable took delivery of that car via Hollywood-based dealership International Motors.

None other than Gable wrote a feature article in the March 1950 issue of Road & Track, a story that mentions two high-speed runs topping at 132 mph (212 kph) on a dry lake bed and 124 mph (nearly 200 kph) on asphalt. Famous XK120 owners also include Humphrey Bogart and Tyrone Power.

Closely related to the Jaguar Mark V in terms of underpinnings, the four-wheeled feline switched to mass-production techniques in May 1950. These cars feature pressed steel instead of head-beaten aluminum, a switch that incurred a minor weight penalty. Come March 1951, the Leaping Cat of Coventry expanded the lineup with the FHC (fixed-head coupe). Loosely inspired by the Bugatti Atalante’s profile, this version was marketed as the posher and more comfortable sibling of the OTS (open two-seat roadster).

Jaguar XK120
Photo: Bonhams
January 1953 is when Jaguar started taking orders for the DHC (drop-head coupe), which stands out from the rest of the lineup with the help of a foldable canvas top. Chrome wire wheels became available in 1953 as well, but the biggest news that year was a high-performance head option sourced from the Le Mans-winning Jaguar C-Type. In combination with SU H8 carburetors, the 3.4-liter mill cranks out 210 horsepower and 213 pound-feet (289 Nm) at 4,000 revolutions per minute. By comparison, SU H6-equipped cars make do with 160 hp and 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) at 2,500 rpm.

Post-war austerity got William Lyons thinking if a four-cylinder motor would be a good idea for the British market. But as fate would have it, the Jaguar XK100 never came to fruition, even though an entry-level sports car with 2.0 liters of displacement would have been a pretty enticing development.

All XK120s were fitted with a Moss Gear Co. four-speed manual transmission with no synchromesh for the first gear. A close-ratio spread was available for those who intended to race the prepossessing sports car.

One of my favorite stories involving the XK120 is the 1954 International 100. Al Keller and his aluminum-bodied Jag finished the first road course race in NASCAR, almost one lap ahead of runner-up Joe Eubanks and his straight-six 1951 Hudson Hornet. A foreign automaker wouldn’t win a NASCAR national series event again until Travis Kvapil and his Toyota Tundra crossed the line first at the 2004 Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners 200.

The XK120 was discontinued in 1954 with a little over 12,000 examples under its belt. 75 percent of total production was left-hand drive, and most of those cars were sold in the United States, where the Corvette still had a straight-six engine rather than the small-block V8 we all know and love.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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