1954 Jaguar XK-120 PF

The SS Cars Ltd. company first used the name 'Jaguar' in 1936 to denote its new high-performance sports model, the SS100. The company founder, William Lyons, later stated that 'I immediately pounced on Jaguar as it had an exciting sound to me.'

'SS', which stood for Swallow Sidecar & Coachbuilding Company, was founded in Blackpool, England by William Walmsley. In 1926, they branched out into motor manufacture and its first major success was an attractive sports saloon on the Austin Seven chassis, wearing a design being the work of Walmsley's partner, William Lyons. The firm later relocated to Coventry and the Swallow range expanded to include models on Wolseley Hornet, Morris Cowley, and Standard Sixteen chassis. The introduction of the SS1 with a chassis supplied exclusively to Swallow by Standard, gave the company Marque status. Standard also provided the six-cylinder side-valve engine and four-speed gearbox. Although the performance was unremarkable, the SS1 established a pattern for future Jaguar generations, combining strong performance with a sporty persona at an attractive price. The name 'Jaguar' was adopted as the marque name in March of 1945 after the 'SS' was deemed to have a tarnished reputation.

After World War II, the newly renamed Jaguar Cars commenced post-war production using a range of pre-war designs, with some minor improvements. These were essentially stopgap models while the new generation of Jaguars was being created. The first new Jaguars models were the compact 1½-Litre and the 2½/3½-Litre model, retrospectively known as the 'Mark IV', that continued the reputation for good road manners, well-appointed interiors, and better-than-average specification.

The Mark IV rested on a 120-inch wheelbase that consisted of a separate chassis with a beam front and live rear axle suspension on semi-elliptic springs, lever-arm dampers, Burman worm-and-nut steering, and Girling mechanical brakes. The all-steel coachwork was in drophead coupe or saloon configurations and given a well-appointed interior that would become a Jaguar hallmark. The engine, which had been used by SS Cars since 1934, was Standard's seven-bearing six. In Jaguar specification, the engine received a Weslake overhead-valve cylinder head and was backed by a four-speed manual gearbox. In 3.5-liter guise, the Mark IV was able to achieve a top speed of 95 mph.

The United States became Jaguar's biggest client following the post-war Attlee governed proclamation of 'export or die.' The Jaguar Mark IV drophead coupe, built for the 1948 season only, was almost exclusively for export with the majority being sent to the United States.

At the Earls Court Automobile Show in London in 1948, Jaguar introduced the XK-120. It was personally designed by the hands of Mr. William Lyons himself and came with a 3.4-liter six-cylinder DOHC engine developing 160 horsepower. The car, with a top speed in excess of 120 mph, had flowing and functional body lines and seductively styled roadster coachwork. The performance was solidified in May of 1949 when a production XK120 was brought to Jabbeke in Belgium and achieved an astounding 132.59 mph.

242 examples were hand-built with alloy bodywork. Demand was so high for the XK120 that the company soon switched to steel bodies, which could be built much faster, and in greater numbers. Between 1949 and 1954, a total of 7,631 examples of the XK 120 roadster were built, with the aforementioned 242 bodied in aluminum.

The Jaguar XK 120 by Pininfarina
Very few Jaguar XK 120 models were given custom coachwork and this example was clothed in a bespoke body by Pininfarina. The legendary U.S. importer Max Hoffman had commissioned Pinin Farina to create a unique sports car. It made its public debut at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show and later appeared at the Autocar Show in April of the same year. It was then delivered to its first owner. From there it led a very quiet life until it resurfaced in 1978 in the care of a German collector who had the intention of giving it a restoration. The restoration never began; it was purchased in 2015 by the U.K.-based Classic Motor Cars who then began a restoration. During the process, they discovered that many important pieces were missing. New parts were fabricated or sourced as needed. The massive undertaking of the complete nut-and-bolt restoration took over 6,700 hours to complete. Upon completion, it made its restoration debut at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2017