Jaguar XK120

Unveiled at the London Motor Show in October 1948, the Jaguar XK120 was meant to be no more than a showcase for the brand’s new engine. Faced with the public’s enthusiasm, William Lyons decided to put it into production.

Its flowing lines, with front wings stretching all the way to the rear, broke with pre-war bodywork. Under its long bonnet sat the 3.4-litre twin-overhead-cam XK straight-six, an engine that would power Jaguars for more than forty years. Its name announced its speed: 120 miles per hour, or around 193 km/h. In 1949, on the Jabbeke motorway in Belgium, it exceeded 200 km/h and became the fastest production car in the world.

The first cars were hand-built in aluminium, before the switch to steel. Produced until 1954, with around 12,000 built, it won over Hollywood, from Clark Gable to Humphrey Bogart, and paved the way for the E-Type.