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May 18, 2007
Is there any sexier car than the Jaguar XK120 which was launched in London in 1949 and became an overnight sensation? The two-seater sports car was powered by a duel overhead cam 3.4 litre inline 6 engine, the XK engine whose basic design was used until 1994; the 120 designation referred to the top speed of 120 m.p.h. making the fastest production car of its time.
Yes, it's fast. But the XK120 followed the Jaguar SS100 with the classic boxy lines that dominated prewar auto design. By contrast, the XK120 is all curves, raking back from a massive front end to the snug cockpit and bubble of a trunk. The hood is pure pudenda, flanked by the curved quarter panels whose lines lead right to the low slung doors.
Last week I took a short ride in John Sweeney's 1954 convertible XK120 around the back roads of Portsmouth. Sweeney, the former executive director of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, had driven the white beauty down for a curtain raiser for Mark Hurwitz's 2007 Newport Concours d'Elegance which takes place May 26-28.
He told me he drives the car regularly and it certainly had plenty of pop for the few miles we spent on the road. He said the car easily does 85 m.p.h. on the highway and "doesn't even breathe hard at that speed."
He also said he never puts the top up because it is not only cumbersome but also unnecessary as the rain whips right over the car once he's powering along at 40 m.p.h. I didn't think to ask about sitting in traffic.
The 120 was succeeded by ever more powerful and more appointed versions - the XK140 and the XK150 - which included such luxuries as indicators (Sweeney used his arm to signal a turn), better brakes and rack and pinion steering - until 1961 when the more masculine and muscular looking E-Type Jaguar made its debut.
But for a few years, the world was blessed with a car that combined top-flight performance - a version of the XK120 won the Le Mans race in 1951 - with the most erotic design ever to grace the roads.
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