Jaguar XK120

Of all the cars that emerged from Europe after the Second World War, the most sensuous of the lot could surely be said to be the Jaguar XK120 which made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1948. Low slung and long with f lowing feline lines that captivated many a car buyer, the XK120 followed in the footsteps of the pre-war SS100 in combining looks with pace and performance. Sir William Lyons was always charged with the idea of performance and the XK120 bore his stamp. During the war he and his team worked on what they said would be the ideal sports car for everyday use and came up with a meticulous set of plans which they hoped to put into practice once hostilities ended. These plans also took in all new four and six-cylinder twin overhead cam engines but due to the paucity of funds, they wisely opted to do only the six! This as history shows was an inspired and a mighty successful decision. The car they housed this six-cylinder engine christened in Jaguar-speak as the XK unit - was the new 120 two-seater coupe styled by Lyons himself. The sweeping lines and the mile long bonnet were design highlights as was the smallish grille flanked by two protruding headlamps neatly sculpted in their wake. But what was beneath the skin was just as evocative. The XK six-cylinder engine displaced 3,442cc (cylinder dimensions measuring 83 x '106mm) and ran on a seven- bearing crankshaft. It had aluminium alloy head in which the twin ohc operated just two valves per cylinder. Twin SU carbs provided the charge to those six cylinders and in its original state of tune it was good for a power output of some 150bhp plus at 5000rpm. A four-speed gearbox was standard transmission offering (with synchromesh on the top three speeds) and the power was transmitted to the live, semi-elliptically sprung rear axle via an open prop shaft. Independent torsion bar front suspension was adopted and the chassis was a simple yet strong box- section affair. Lyons’ game plan was to make just about a hundred of these coupes and riding on the back of this car they wanted to go over to a four-door saloon which they thought would be a major draw. They were proved wrong thanks to strong demand for the XK120 from the US. This upset production plans but the effort to go in for proper volume production thereafter was well worth the effort. The car began to be seriously seen in competition with many owners taking to the track. The very first success for the car came in May 1949 when on the famous Jabbeke stretch in Belgium it clocked a 126.448mph speed over the measured mile. A couple of months later two XK120s took first and second in the inaugural Silverstone One Hour production car race. A very young Stirling Moss won the 1950 Dundrod Tourist Trophy race driving an XK120 while Ian Appleyard won the Alpine Rally in 1950 and '51 using the same car. The Jaguar legend was well and truly on its way.