Description
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the BRDC Classic 2026 - Collectors' Cars on Saturday the 25th of July, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, NN12 8TN. First registered on 22nd January 1954, this Jaguar XK120 Drophead Coupé represents one of the most desirable and enduring British sports cars of the post-war era. Beautifully proportioned and powered by Jaguar’s legendary twin overhead-camshaft 3. 4-litre straight-six engine, the XK120 combined exhilarating performance with refinement in a manner few manufacturers could rival at the time. A car-starved Britain, still trundling around in perpendicular pre-war hangover vehicles, glimpsed the future in October 1948 with the launch of the Jaguar XK120 at the Earls Court Motor Show. Production commenced in 1949 in Coventry, and the XK's swoopy shape and stylish occupants would become a common sight on British roads over the next 15 years. It heralded the arrival of Jaguar's famous 3. 4-litre twin overhead camshaft XK engine, (the basis of all their engines for the next 25 years) with an alloy cylinder head and twin side-draught SU carburettors producing nearly 160bhp. The 120 referred to the car's top speed which, at the time, made it the fastest production car in the world. Jaguar seems to have always had a flair for marketing and, to illustrate that, the car's top speed was not a figment of a publicist's imagination as in May 1949, on the Jabbeke to Aeltre autoroute, an XK120 with its hood and side screens in place recorded a speed of 126mph, and no less than 132mph with the hood and windscreen detached and an undertray fitted. The car was in almost instant demand and went on to spawn the famous XK lineage of fast and elegant sports cars. The Drophead Coupé, introduced in 1953, offered all the performance and style of the original Open Two-Seater with the added practicality of winding side windows, a fully lined folding hood, weather protection, a luxuriously appointed interior complete with burr walnut trim and today it is widely regarded as the most usable and refined variant of the XK120 range. However, the post-WWII British economy was struggling and the Coventry manufacturer was pressured by the government to heavily prioritise overseas sales to secure foreign currency, meaning original UK-supplied examples of these dropheads are exceptionally rare. Out of the 295 right-hand-drive XK120 Drophead Coupés (DHC) built, the vast majority were allocated for export, leaving a very small number designated for the UK home-market. While exact build records for specific overseas shipments occasionally vary in vintage logs, automotive historians and Jaguar heritage specialists typically cite between 100 and 107 cars as being officially supplied new to the UK market. According to its accompanying Jaguar Heritage Trust Production Record Trace Certificate, chassis #667168 was manufactured on 30th December 1953 before being dispatched on 13th January 1954 to P. J. Evans of Birmingham, both the original distributor and supplying dealer. The car was originally finished in Cream with a red leather interior and a black hood and was issued its original Birmingham registration, OOJ 123, which it continues to display today. Now finished in British Racing Green over a Dark Green leather interior with a Fawn soft top, an attractive colour scheme that complements the XK120’s timeless lines, this right-hand-drive Drophead Coupé is among the final examples produced before the introduction of the XK140 later in 1954. With just 295 right-hand-drive XK120 Drophead Coupés believed to have been built, it represents a rare opportunity to acquire one of Jaguar’s most coveted post-war sports cars. More than seventy years after its introduction, the XK120 continues to captivate enthusiasts with its elegant styling, exceptional engineering and illustrious competition pedigree. Equally suited to touring events, concours displays or simply enjoying the open road, it remains one of the defining British sports cars of the twentieth century and an essential model in Jaguar’s remarkable history. ...
