A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Jaguar C Type racing car as seen action during the 1952 racing season!

The Jaguar C-Type (also called the Jaguar XK120-C) was built by Jaguar from 1951 to 1953. Its aerodynamic body was designed by Malcolm Sayer, its lightweight, multi-tubular, triangulated frame designed by Bob Knight. A total of 52 have been built. Mechanically, it used the running gear of the contemporary XK120 sports car (the C in the official XK120-C name stands for 'competition'). The twin-cam, straight-6 engine was tuned to around 205 bhp (153 kW) rather than 160 to 180 bhp (134 kW) of the road car. The custom, tubular chassis and aluminium body-panels, along with the elimination of all creature-comforts, helped the car to shed nearly 1000 lb (454 kg) compared to a comparable Jaguar road-car. The later C-Types were more powerful, using triple twin-choke Weber carburettors and high-lift camshaft. They were also lighter and better braked, by means of all-round disc brakes. The Jaguar C-Type won the Le Mans 24 hours race at its first attempt in 1951, driven by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead. Stirling Moss also drove one of the cars, but retired after running very strongly. In 1952 Jaguar, worried by reports of the speed of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, modified the aerodynamics to increase the top speed. However, this necessitated a rearrangement of the car's cooling system, and subsequently all three entries retired due to overheating. In 1953 the car won again, in a lightened, more powerful configuration, driven by Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt. This victory marked the first time the race had been won at an average of over 100 mph {160 km/h} (105.85 mph {170.34 km/h}, to be precise). 1954, the C-Type's final year at Le Mans, saw a fourth place by the Ecurie Francorchamps entry driven by Roger Laurent and Jacques Swaters. When new, the car sold for approximately $6,000 - approximately twice the price of an XK120.

Jaguar Cars Limited, based in Coventry, England, was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in Blackpool in 1922, changing to SS Cars Ltd in 1934 in Coventry, and finally becoming Jaguar Cars Ltd in 1945. Founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley, the SS Jaguar name first appeared on a 2.5 litre saloon in 1935. The Jaguar name was given to the entire company in 1945 when the SS was dropped due to lack of popularity from WWII. Jaguar made its name in the 1950s with a series of elegantly-styled sports cars and luxury saloons. The company bought the Daimler Motor Company (not to be confused with Daimler-Benz), in 1960 from Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). From the late 1960s, Daimler was used as a brand name for Jaguar's most luxurious saloons. The company has had major success in sports car racing, particularly in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Victories came in 1951 and 1953 with the C-Type, then in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with the D-Type. The manager of the racing team during this period, Lofty England, later went on to become CEO of Jaguar in the early 1970s. Although the prototype XJ13 was built in the mid-1960s it was never raced, and the famous race was then left for many years, until in the mid-1980s when Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team started designing and preparing Jaguar V12-engined sports prototypes for European sports car races. The team started winning regularly from 1987, and with increased factory backing the team won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990. In the late 1990s, Ford decided that Jaguar would be the corporation's Formula One entry. Ford bought out the semi-works Stewart Grand Prix team and rebranded it as Jaguar Racing. The Jaguar F1 program was not a success however, achieving only two podium finishes in five seasons of competition between 2000 and 2004. At the end of 2004, with costs mounting and Ford's profits dwindling, the F1 team was sold to Red Bull energy drinks owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and it became Red Bull Racing. Since 2004 Jaguar has not had an official presence in motorsport.

This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Jaguar C Type automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 cm x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.