Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe, 1953
Jaguar XK XK120
Jaguar XK XK120•
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Chassis No.: W78898
Auction: Monterey 2021
Auction date: August 14, 2021
Lot No.: S56
$80,000 | High bid
- Exterior: Red
- Interior: Tan
- Body: Fixed Head Coupe
- Twin cam 3.4L inline 6-cylinder engine
- Twin SU carburetors
- 265 HP at 5,500 RPM
- 4-speed manual gearbox
- Double wishbone independent front suspension with torsion bars and anti-roll bar
- Live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs
- 4-wheel hydraulic drum brakes
Following its show-stopping debut at the 1948 London Motor Show, it was quickly confirmed that the numbers in the XK120 designation were a genuine measure of performance. With its 120 MPH top speed confirmed and exceeded in road tests, the sensational new Jaguar was simply the fastest production car in the world. That was due in no small part to the famed 3.4L 6-cylinder twin-overhead-cam XK engine, which went on to power the space-framed competition XK120C, better known as the C-type, to famous victories at the Le Mans 24-Hour Race in 1951 and 1953.
Back in 1951, Jaguar augmented the original open roadster version with a sublime fixed-head coupe featuring a streamlined teardrop profile that clearly paid homage to the legendary prewar Talbot-Lago T150 SS. Less well known is the fact the XK120 fixed-head was actually more expensive than its open counterpart and was correspondingly more fully equipped and better appointed, with refinements including walnut dash and door-top trim, improved ventilation, roll-up windows and opening quarterlights.
As a 1953 example, this left-hand-drive coupe benefits from the on-going development program that included a Salisbury rear axle, self-adjusting front brakes and tandem braking separating front and rear systems. With its two-tone red and burgundy livery, the sinuous lines of this XK120 are further emphasised, just as they were by the same treatment on many Talbot-Lago T150s; equally, the correct steel disc wheels—rather than optional wires—are far more suited to the coupe, as they enable the fitment of rear-wheel spats to further define and elongate the flanks, just as they do on the Talbot-Lago.
In addition, the XK120 coupe is very much rarer than the roadster, with a production run of just 2,678 compared with the open car’s tally of 7,612. Moreover, the XK140 coupe that followed had far heavier bumpers and an extended roofline with an enlarged cabin which most certainly compromised the lithe and feline form. Even more so than with the XK120 roadster, the fixed-head coupe is the purest and prettiest expression of the XK theme, and the one for purists and aesthetes alike.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/465301/1953-jaguar-xk120-fixed-head-coupe/
Cost
293,800 AED
