SKU: 38209G
1953 Jaguar XK 120 Racing

In October of 1948 at the Earls Court Motor Show in London, Britain witnessed the emergence of the Jaguar XK120. It was a show-piece car for the Jaguar name and intended to be produced in low volume as a 'specialty car'. Initially dubbed the XK Open Two Seater Super Sport, it was quickly changed to the XK 120 to capitalize on the vehicles top speed - 120 miles per hour. The 'X' represented the 'experimental' engine type while the letter 'K' was the sequence. The 120 mile-per-hour fact was important; it made it the fastest standard production car in the world. The success of this vehicle was based on its performance, styling and value. Priced very affordably, it was often much less than the competition. The problem was that the XK 120 was intended to be produced in low volume. The very early models featured an aluminum body. After the introduction the demand for the vehicle was overwhelming. The body material was changed to metal so it could be produced on a production line, thus eliminating the need for the slow process of hand building each vehicle. Two-hundred and thirty-nine examples were produced with the aluminum shell. Most, except five or six models, were exported. The metal body was nearly identical to the aluminum except for some hard-to-spot panels that had minor differences in the curvature. Model Features: Opening bonnet, engine detail, opening doors and interior detail.