Jaguar XK120 Coupe. White version from Malaga Museum, Spain. Made in UK in 1952, V6, 160 hp, 3.400 cc.
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar’s first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939.
The XK120 is a highly desirable model. In 2016, Bonhams sold a matching numbers left-hand-drive alloy-bodied roadster – one of only 184 – for $396,000 (£302,566). This marks the highest price achieved for an XK120 at auction so far.
Beginning in 1948, the first 242 cars wore wood-framed open 2-seater bodies with aluminium panels. Production switched to the 1cwt or 112 lb (51 kg) heavier all-steel in early 1950. The “120” in the name referred to the aluminium car’s 120 mph (193 km/h) top speed (faster with the windscreen removed), which made it the world’s fastest production car at the time of its launch. In 1949 the first production car, chassis number 670003, was delivered to Clark Gable.
The XK120 was ultimately available in three versions or body styles, first as an open 2-seater described in the US market as a roadster (OTS) then as a fixed head coupé (FHC) from 1951 and finally as a drophead coupé (DHC) from 1953, all two-seaters and available with Left (LHD) or Right Hand Drive (RHD).
However, certain Special Equipment roadster and fixed head coupe cars were produced between 1948 and 1949 denoted by an ‘S’ preceding the chassis number. These Special Equipment cars were sold as an early production build for enthusiasts.
