1952 Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe

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1954 Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupé

1954 Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupé

The XK120 took the world by storm when it was introduced at the 1948 London Motor Show. A particularly enthusiastic XK120 owner and driver was Leslie Johnson, who drove one of the three works XK120s to victory in the Touring Car Race at Silverstone in 1949. Using his own XK120, Johnson in 1950 decided to go in for endurance records. In October of that year, together with Stirling Moss as his co-driver, he did a 24 hour non-stop run at the Montlhéry race track near Paris at an average of 107.46mph (173km/h). In the following year, in the same car at the same venue, Johnson completed a one hour run at an average of 131.83mph (212km/h). Jaguar provided the car for Johnson's next venture. The car was only the second right-hand drive version of the new XK120 fixed head coupé, and the idea was to drive this for seven days and seven nights at an average of over 100mph (161km). Johnson's co-drivers in the attempt were Moss, Bert Hadley and Jack Fairman. The seven day run was made at Montlhéry, in early August 1952. The first attempt had to be abandoned after the car hit a block of concrete, but after repairs the team started again. A spring broke on the fifth day, and although it was replaced and the run continued, no more records could be officially accepted. Nevertheless, Jaguar's goal was achieved, as the car averaged 100.31mph (161.43km/h) for the seven days and nights, having covered 16,851 miles (27,120km). In addition, five new class records and four World Records were set for shorter distances, up to four days and 10,000 miles.Tags:,