Jaguar Xk120

Jaguar XK120 Finance

Following three austere post-war years it was no surprise that the spectacularly styled XK120 Roadster caused such a sensation when first revealed at the 1948 Earl’s Court motorshow. Excitement was heightened further by the ‘120’ in its name – a reference to the car’s 120mph top speed, a speed which made it the world’s fastest production car, at least for a while.

As it turned out, 120 was a conservative figure as The Motor magazine’s road test in 1949 recorded a max of 124.6mph with 0-60 in 10.0 secs.

So, Jaguar’s new XK had it all, with a major part of its appeal being its new 160bhp 3.4-litre dohc straight six engine. (The optional SE version introduced in mid 1951 made 180bhp, while later, dealer-fitted factory parts could up power to 210bhp or more.)

Early XK120 Roadsters wore hand-formed all-aluminium bodies affixed to a laminated ash frame, which in turn was mounted to a steel ladder-type chassis, but high demand meant that from 1950 the body was formed from pressed steel. Still with aluminium doors, bonnet and boot lid, a steel-bodied XK was a negligible 50kgs heavier.

A fixed head coupé version arrived in 1951 with a more capacious drophead coupé following in 1953, and of the 12,055 XK120s built (242 alloy, 11,813 steel) most were exported to the USA.

In addition to the new variants and power options, the XK120’s appeal was further enhanced by a near endless list of track and time-trial successes. It won its first ever race (at Silverstone in ’49), and a lightly modified XK120 managed an officially-timed 132.596mph on a Belgian autoroute (Jabbeke, ’49). XK120s also set several other world records including 131.83mph for one hour, 107.46mph for 24 hours while another averaged 100.31mph over an entire week. And in New Jersey in 1954 an XK120 became the first, and subsequently the only foreign-built car ever to win a NASCAR race.

Initially priced at £998 plus tax (Motor’s 1949 test car was £1,263 on the road) steel XK120s are now valued region £90k-£150k, while the earlier, rarer alloy Roadsters command from £200k to £300k.