Welcome to Autoxchange - Jaguar: A Retrospective

In 1948, the first post war sports car from Jaguar was the legendary XK 120. The XK marked the beginning of the sensual and slippery shapes from Jaguar. This car also introduced the famed Jaguar XK engine. The engine featured a DOHC (dual overhead cam) aluminum alloy cylinder head – remember this was 1948. It was certainly a very advanced engine for its time, and its basic architecture was in use till as recently as the 1980s.

The XK 120 got its name from its impressive top speed of 120mp/h (193km/h) – making it the fastest production car in the world at the time.


		The C-Type with Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel in 1951
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		The C-Type was Jaguar's first Le Mans winner. It won at its first attempt in 1951, and then again in 1953. The C-Type was essentially a competition version of the XK 120. In fact, it was also referred to as the XK 120-C – the C standing for competition. The engine was tuned to deliver over 200 horsepower. In addition, it had a lightweight tubular chassis and custom aluminum panels that helped it shed almost 500 kilos of weight in comparison to the XK- 120. Later versions of the car featured disc brakes all round – making it a very technologically advanced car at the time.

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The 3-time Le Mans winning D-Type made Jaguar the most successful manufacturer in sports car racing in the 50s – a time when the 24 Hours of Le Mans was perhaps the most important race in the world. The D-Type carried on where its predecessor, the C-Type, left off – winning Le Mans in 1955, 56 and 57. In fact, in 1957 the D-Type constituted all but one of the top 6 finishers at Le Mans. The D-Type had the same engine as its predecessor, but uprated to 3.8 litres. What was revolutionary was its monocoque chassis, which essentially came from aircraft construction at the time. The design of the D-Type also displayed a greater understanding of aerodynamics – Le Mans D-Types were easily distinguishable by large vertical stabilizers mounted behind the drivers' head for the famous Mulsanne straight at La Sarthe.

The D-Type also featured other innovations that we see on cars today such as dry sump lubrication in order to reduce the height of the engine.

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		The Mark II was a very successful small saloon made by Jaguar from 1959 onwards. It featured a monocoque chassis, the XK engine in 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre variants, as well as disc brakes and independent rear suspension as options. This made it a very capable saloon, and it was even used to patrol Britain's unrestricted highways in the 1960s.

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The E-Type is regarded as the most important Jaguar there ever was. It's certainly one of the most evocative and beautiful shapes of all time. The E-Type was a car that came to define Jaguar as a company, and, in fact, the 60s as a decade. It remains one of the most recognized and sought after cars of the 1960s.