Photo: Bring a Trailer
After World War II came to a close and SS changed its name to Jaguar due to an unhappy connotation, William Lyons penned the shape of the XK120 in four weeks. Presented at the 1948 London Motor Show on a Mark V chassis, the fastest production car of that era is a collector’s piece nowadays, especially the alloy-bodied cars made until early 1950.
Dressed in hand-beaten aluminum, the alloy-bodied XK120 features a wood-framed construction that helps keep the weight down. Only 242 units were manufactured in this specification, and one of them is up for grabs.
Chassis number 660020 is a right-hand-drive roadster that rolled off the line on the 28th of November in 1949, according to the production record trace certificate. Originally dispatched to Australia, then imported to Germany in the 1970s, the car incurred moisture damage while in storage. Following the current owner’s purchase in 2009, the marvelous-looking machine had its body repaired in the United Kingdom. A full refurbishment followed suit between 2014 and 2016 in Arizona, a meticulous restoration that earned the vehicle a Jaguar Heritage Trust Certificate from the British manufacturer.
Currently listed on Bring a Trailer with a high offer of $125,000 and 13 days of bidding left, the leaping cat is actually worth a lot more. According to previous auction data, the highest sale value is $495,000, while the average sale value stands at $345,000 for an original alloy-bodied roadster from 1949.
Stripped to bare metal and repainted in British Racing Green, the XK120 is rocking a pair of Brooklands windscreens, a rearview mirror fairing, bumper-mounted driving lights, tri-bar headlights, a Monza-style fuel filler cap, a leather hood strap, and number 20 roundels for extra visual drama.
Knock-off wheels mounted with Vredestein Sprint Classic tires, disc brakes up front, drums out back, and a black tonneau cover are featured as well, along with snazzy-looking tan upholstery and tan carpeting. Fitted with a four-speed manual transmission, SU carburetors, and a Marston radiator, this old-school marvel takes its mojo from a 3.4-liter straight-six engine.
The seller didn’t provide any horsepower or torque figures, but it’s easy to guesstimate how much it makes based on the original specification. More specifically, a brand-new XK120 used to crank out 160 horsepower at 5,000 revolutions per minute and 195 pound-feet (264 Nm) of torque at 2,500 rpm. As the name implies, that engine and the lightweight construction translate to a maximum speed of 120 mph (193 kph) with the windscreen removed.
Chassis number 660020 is a right-hand-drive roadster that rolled off the line on the 28th of November in 1949, according to the production record trace certificate. Originally dispatched to Australia, then imported to Germany in the 1970s, the car incurred moisture damage while in storage. Following the current owner’s purchase in 2009, the marvelous-looking machine had its body repaired in the United Kingdom. A full refurbishment followed suit between 2014 and 2016 in Arizona, a meticulous restoration that earned the vehicle a Jaguar Heritage Trust Certificate from the British manufacturer.
Currently listed on Bring a Trailer with a high offer of $125,000 and 13 days of bidding left, the leaping cat is actually worth a lot more. According to previous auction data, the highest sale value is $495,000, while the average sale value stands at $345,000 for an original alloy-bodied roadster from 1949.
Stripped to bare metal and repainted in British Racing Green, the XK120 is rocking a pair of Brooklands windscreens, a rearview mirror fairing, bumper-mounted driving lights, tri-bar headlights, a Monza-style fuel filler cap, a leather hood strap, and number 20 roundels for extra visual drama.
Knock-off wheels mounted with Vredestein Sprint Classic tires, disc brakes up front, drums out back, and a black tonneau cover are featured as well, along with snazzy-looking tan upholstery and tan carpeting. Fitted with a four-speed manual transmission, SU carburetors, and a Marston radiator, this old-school marvel takes its mojo from a 3.4-liter straight-six engine.
The seller didn’t provide any horsepower or torque figures, but it’s easy to guesstimate how much it makes based on the original specification. More specifically, a brand-new XK120 used to crank out 160 horsepower at 5,000 revolutions per minute and 195 pound-feet (264 Nm) of torque at 2,500 rpm. As the name implies, that engine and the lightweight construction translate to a maximum speed of 120 mph (193 kph) with the windscreen removed.
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