A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Jaguar XK120.
The Jaguar
XK120 was a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It
was Jaguar's first post-war sports car, it succeeded the SS 100, which ceased
production in 1940. The XK120 was launched in roadster form at the 1948 London
Motor Show as a testbed and show car for the new Jaguar XK engine. It caused a
sensation, which persuaded William Lyons to put it into production. The
"120" in its name referred to its 120 mph (193 km/h) top speed
(faster with the windscreen removed),
which made the XK120 the world's fastest standard production car at the time of
its launch. It was available in two convertible versions — first as the
roadster (designated OTS, for open two-seater, in America), then also as a drophead
coupé, or DHC, from 1953 — and as a closed, or "fixed-head" coupé
(FHC) from 1951. The DHC was a more deluxe model, featuring a beautiful wood
dashboard and wood features on the door interiors. The first 242 cars, all
1949-model roadsters hand-built in late 1948, had aluminium bodies on ash
frames. To meet demand it was necessary for the mass-production versions,
beginning with the 1950 model year, to have pressed-steel bodies. They retained
aluminium doors, bonnet, and boot lid. With alloy cylinder head and twin side
draft SU carburetors, the dual overhead-cam 3.4 L straight-6 XK engine was
comparatively advanced for a mass-produced unit of the time. With standard 8:1
compression ratio it developed 160 bhp (119 kW). [2] A 7:1 low
compression version was also available to cope with low quality fuel. This same
basic design of the XK engine, later modified into 3.8L and 4.2L versions,
survived into the late 1980s. All XK120s had independent torsion bar front
suspension, semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear, recirculating-ball
steering, telescopically adjustable steering column, and all-round drum brakes
that were prone to fade. The roadster's lightweight canvas top and detachable
sidescreens stowed out of sight behind the seats, and its barchetta-style doors
had no external handles; instead there was an interior pull-cord which was
accessible through a flap in the sidescreens when the weather equipment was in
place. The windscreen could be removed for aeroscreens to be fitted. The
drophead coupé had a padded canvas top, which folded onto the rear deck behind
the seats when not in use, and roll-up windows. The windscreen was fixed.
Dashboards and door caps in both the FHC and DHC were wood-veneered, whereas
the roadster's were leather-trimmed. All models had removable spats
("fender skirts" in America)
covering the rear wheel arches, which enhanced the streamlined look. On cars
fitted with optional centre-lock wire wheels (available from 1951), the spats
were omitted as they gave insufficient clearance for the two-eared
Rudge-Whitworth knockoff hubs. In addition to wire wheels, upgrades on the
Special Equipment, or SE, version (called the M version in the United States)
included increased power, stiffer suspension and dual exhaust system. The Motor
magazine road-tested an XK120 roadster in 1949. With hood and sidescreens in
place, it achieved a top speed of 124.6 mph (200.5 km/h), accelerated
from 0-60 mph
(97 km/h)
in 10.0 seconds and consumed fuel at the rate of 19.8 miles per imperial
gallon (14.3 L/100 km; 16.5 mpg-US). The car as tested cost
£1263 including taxes. In May 1949, Jaguar demonstrated an XK120 roadster to
the press on the high-speed autoroute between Jabbeke and Aeltre in Belgium.
The road was closed for the occasion. The white left-hand drive car, chassis
number 670002, was the second XK120 built. Jaguar's development engineer Walter
Hassan was to have driven but fell ill, so Jaguar test-driver Ron
"Soapy" Sutton substituted for him. With hood and sidescreens
erected, and the airflow under the car improved by the addition of a
full-length aluminium undertray, the Jaguar was timed through the flying mile
by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium at 126.448 mph
(203.498 km/h). With hood, sidescreens and windscreen removed, a metal
airflow deflector fitted in front of the driver, and a tonneau cover fastened
over the passenger side of the cockpit the speed improved to 136.596 mph
(219.830 km/h), making the XK120 the world's fastest production car. In
1949 the XK120s scored its first race victory: In the Daily Express-sponsored
One-Hour Production Car Race held on August 30, 1949 at Silverstone Circuit,
England, Leslie Johnson drove the Jabbeke car to the XK120's first-ever race
victory (despite an early collision with a spinning Jowett Javelin which
dropped the Jaguar to fifth). The car, road-registered HKV 500, was converted
to right-hand drive for Silverstone. Two other XK120s took part. One, driven by
Peter Walker, finished second and the other, driven by Prince Bira, spun out of
contention when a tire punctured. In January 1950 Johnson also scored the
model’s first competition success in America, winning the production
class in a race at Palm Beach Shores,
Florida with the car that had
finished second at Silverstone. – It was the first US victory for Jaguar. The Jaguar
lost its brakes but finished fourth overall. John Lea, Jaguar’s Experimental
Department mechanic who attended the race, reported: "The conditions at Palm Beach were wet, windy
and sandy. Water and sand gained entry into the brake drums at the front, and
the mixture had the effect of accelerating the wear very considerably. Our car
finished with no linings and with the steel shoes bearing on the brake
drums." In 1950 Jaguar allocated six alloy-bodied XK120s to drivers
Johnson, Walker, Nick Haines, Clemente Biondetti, Ian Appleyard and Tom Wisdom.
Three of the allocated cars, extensively modified, were entered for the 1950 Le
Mans 24 Hours race. Johnson, who spearheaded this factory-supported assault on
the race with co-driver Bert Hadley, never ran lower than seventh place, and
held second for two hours, but in the 21st hour had to retire from third place
with clutch failure caused by using the gears to slow the car in the absence of
brakes. (As a result the clutch was revised to a more robust design for
production models.) The Jaguar had been closing the gap to leader Louis Rosier,
whose Talbot's pace was significantly slower, at a rate that would have secured
victory. Haines, with co-driver Peter Clark, finished 12th, and Walker’s car, driven by
Peter Whitehead and John Marshall, was 15th. The results convinced William
Lyons it was worth investing in future success at Le Mans. Biondetti's car, the first XK120 to
contest the Targa Florio, lay second to Alberto Ascari’s Ferrari when a
connecting rod broke, ending the Jaguar’s run. Johnson took fifth place in the
Mille Miglia, with John Lea as his riding mechanic, while Biondetti and co-driver
Gino Bronzoni finished eighth. Fifth was an outstanding achievement for a
production car, with Johnson's Jaguar beaten only by Fangio's works Alfa Romeo
and the works Ferraris of Serafini, Bracco and winner Marzotto. It was Jaguar's
best-ever finish in the Mille Miglia; also the best by a British car and driver
combination, a feat that only Reg Parnell ever equalled, driving an Aston
Martin DB3 in 1953. Silverstone Production Car Race: Five XK120s entered the
race, which Peter Walker won from Tony Rolt, with Johnson recovering to eighth
after spinning on oil. Jaguar won the team prize. XK120s also achieved a 1-2-3 victory in the TT,
held at Dundrod in heavy rain. On the eve of his 21st birthday Stirling Moss
drove Tom Wisdom's car to a brilliant win ahead of Whitehead and Johnson, and
Jaguar once again took the team prize. Ian Appleyard's XK120, road-registered
as NUB 120, won the French Alpine Rally with his wife Pat, who was the daughter
of Sir William Lyons, navigating. They also won a coveted Coupe des Alpes. both
the 1950 Alpine and 1951 Tulip rallies with Appleyard driving and his wife Pat
navigating. In the 1951 Alpine Rally NUB 120 and the Appleyards repeated their
previous year’s success. Tulip Rally: The Appleyards took first place in this
grueling Dutch rally, with Swiss fighter pilot Rolf Habisreutinger’s XK120
finishing second. Although the Appleyards’ XK120 did not win its third Alpine
in 1952, it completed the rally without incurring a single penalty point,
winning the first-ever Alpine Rally Gold Cup. On February 1, 1954, an XK120 FHC won Australia's
first 24-hour race, the Mount Druitt 24 Hours, from a Bristol 400 and a Humber Super Snipe. In America,
an XK120 FHC was the first imported car to achieve victory in NASCAR, when Al
Keller won the first NASCAR road race, held at Linden Airport, New Jersey,
on June 13, 1954.
The Jaguar XK120 also set numerous world records on the steeply banked oval
track at the Autodrome de Montlhéry, near Paris.
In 1950; 107.46 mph (172.94 km/h) for 24 hours (including stops
for fuel and tyres): Leslie Johnson sharing his XK120 roadster, road-registered
JWK 651, with Stirling Moss. The first time a production car had averaged over 100 mph
(160.93 km/h) for 24 hours. Changing drivers every three hours, the Jaguar
covered 2579.16 miles,
with a best lap of 126.2 mph (203.10 km/h). In 1951; 131.83 mi
(212.16 km) in one hour: Johnson solo in JWK 651. "No mean
feat...driving at almost twice today's maximum (UK) speed limit into a steep
turn, assaulted by the g-force induced by 30 degree banking twice every
minute, using Forties technology, leaf spring suspension and narrow crossply
tyres...Johnson remarked that the car felt so good it could have gone on for
another week, an off-the-cuff comment that sowed the seed for another idea.
Flat out for a week..." William Lyons, mindful of the considerable kudos
and advertising mileage that had already accrued from Johnson's exploits,
commandeered a brand new XK120 FHC for him: bronze-colored, and fitted with
wire wheels, it was Jaguar chief engineer Walter Hassan's car, the second
right-hand drive coupé made. The car broke a spring on the track's rough
concrete surface when already well into the run. No spare was carried, and
regulations stipulated that a replacement from outside would make the car
ineligible for any further records beyond those already achieved before the
repair. Johnson drove nine hours to save the other drivers from added risk
while the speed had to be maintained on the broken spring. When he finally
stopped to have it replaced, the car had taken the world and Class C 72-hour
records at 105.55 mph (169.87 km/h), world and Class C four-day
records at 101.17 mph (162.82 km/h), Class C 10,000-kilometer record
at 107.031 mph (172.250 km/h), world and Class C 15,000-kilometer
records at 101.95 mph (164.07 km/h), and world and Class C
10,000-mile (16,000 km) records at 100.65 mph (161.98 km/h).
After the repair the car went on to complete the full seven days and nights,
covering a total of 16,851.73 mi (27,120.23 km) at an average speed
of 100.31 mph (161.43 km/h).
This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects
a wonderful era of Jaguar and 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 10"
(ca. 20 x 26 cm). It makes it perfectly
suitable for framing.
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you
buy. For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on
photo, for ebay purposes only)
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expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our
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We have
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