1950 Jaguar XK120

Chassis No.: 660118
Engine No.: W2293-8
Transmission No.: JH4821

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This particular car is the third car built for the 1950 model year. It is a right hand drive steel body car with aluminum hood, trunk and doors and was ordered for competition use. It was owned by famous west coast sports car enthusiast John Edgar and was raced in 1952 by Jack McAfee.
McAfee had previous XK120 experience driving Tony Parravano’s car to third overall at the Santa Ana road races in 1950. McAfee moved over to Edgar’s team in 1951 driving the MG special and this Jaguar XK120.

At the 1952 Palm Springs Road Races McAfee had a remarkable race in this XK120. He spun out while leading and had to let the entire field pass before rejoining the race. He then drove back through the field to take the win! He also competed with the car at Torrey Pines and other west cost events. By 1953 McAfee had moved into Edgar’s Ferrari 4.1 and the Jaguar was eventually sold.

After its competition carrier was over the car was used very little and eventually put into storage in the mid 1960’s. The car has lived its entire life in California and is in great condition. The aluminum panels are in excellent condition and show no signs of any damage. This would make the perfect Jaguar vintage racer with its period racing history.

About the XK120

The Jaguar XK120 was designed to be a prestigious vehicle and produced in low numbers. The designation '120' represented the vehicles top speed of 120 miles-per-hour. At the time, it was the fastest production car in the world.

The XK120 was powered by a 160 horsepower, 3.4 liter, inline-six cylinder engine. Peak horsepower was achieved at 5000 RPM. 120-mph was the promised speed, but in reality it could run around 126-132 mph depending on the trim of the vehicle.

The XK120 was almost certainly never intended to be a volume production model. At that time Jaguar had the engine - the newly developed 6 cylinder XK unit, but the large sedan for which it was intended was not ready. This car, the MK VII Sedan would not appeared until late1950. In the meantime Jaguar badly needed to stir up some excitement, as its range was still of pre-war design, so the XK Open Two Seater Super Sports as it was then known was designed as a "show car" for the 1948 Motor Show. It utilized a shortened version of the chassis designed for the MK VII and the brand new XK engine. It made extensive use of aluminum for the body panels, and William Lyons had plans to market it as a fairly low volume "specialty car". Its purpose was to maintain public interest until the introduction of the MK VII, and act as a test bed for the new engine.

The car was a sensation, and orders so overwhelmed the production capability that the body had to be redesigned in steel, rather than aluminum. Because of the need to redesign and retool, volume production did not begin until 1950.

 

 

 

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