The prototype of Jaguar’s brilliant XK120, simply intended to showcase Jaguar’s all-new “XK” DOHC six-cylinder engine, was built on a Mark V chassis and completed in just six weeks’ time for display at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show in London. Unforeseen demand for the rakish roadster was heightened by its sparkling performance, particularly the ability of a lightly modified example to reach 141.51 mph in the hands of company driver Ron Sutton during a timed run on Belgium’s Jabbeke Highway. Production of the XK120 continued into 1954.

This car was auctioned off by RM Auctions in January of 2011 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona.

160 bhp, 3,442 cc inline six-cylinder engine with dual overhead camshafts, four-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension with transverse wishbones, elongated torsion bars and anti-roll bar, rigid rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 102"

Source: RM Auctions
Photo Credit: Copyright Darin Schnabel