Description
The Jaguar XK120, Chassis 677561, is no ordinary restored XK120, but rather a historically evolved Competition Special with an extraordinary story. According to the vehicle's documented history, its long-time Californian owner Dmytro Martyniuk competed in the La Carrera Panamericana with this car in 1994 and 1995. After the 1995 race, he further developed the Jaguar to compete again in 1996 in an even more refined form. Unfortunately, this never came to pass.
The essential technical modifications date back to this competition phase. The original 3. 4-litre XK engine was replaced with a 3. 8-litre XK six-cylinder, enlarged to approximately 4. 0 litres and fitted with a worked cylinder head and lightened flywheel. Power output exceeds 300 bhp. Also from Dmytro came the conversion to the robust Getrag 265 five-speed gearbox, the limited-slip differential conversion based on a Ford Mustang differential, the competition brake system with engineering and concept from the Jaguar D-Type environment, and further Carrera-specific tuning.
I took on the car as an unfinished project and completed it over several years. My explicit goal was not to turn it into a modern restomod, but to understand Dmytro's original concept and consistently see it through to completion. In the course of this work, the three SU carburettors were replaced with three Weber 45s. This makes the large XK six-cylinder respond much more directly and gives it the raw, mechanical character that suits this car. Additionally, I installed a short-shifter for the Getrag. Despite the long gear lever arm, the actual shift throw is only about ten centimetres; the gears engage very precisely and mechanically.
The stainless steel exhaust is configured as a separate 3+3 system: the front and rear three cylinders each run through their own exhaust path. This gives the engine an unusually deep, bassy tone that transitions into a hard competition sound under load. The cockpit also features period-correct Hanhart rally stopwatches, fitting the vehicle's long-distance and rally heritage.
This car is not a concours vehicle and doesn't pretend to be one. It bears the character of a historical competition car developed over decades. Accordingly, there are signs of age and use, and the mechanics feel deliberately mechanical and immediate. Anyone seeking a completely original XK120 in factory specification will find more suitable cars elsewhere. This is about authenticity of the competition concept, not matching-numbers purism.
With a high-performance historical racing car over 70 years old, one should of course plan for regular inspection and maintenance of the carburettors, ignition, fluids, brakes, chassis and drivetrain. For me, that's as much a part of such a car as it is for any other seriously driven Competition Classic. The vehicle was completed over years with considerable effort and is today preserved in the setup that essentially continues Dmytro's Panamericana concept – supplemented only by the Weber carburettors and the short-shifter.
The history includes an old California Certificate of Title from 1989 in Dmytro Martyniuk's name from Santa Barbara with chassis number 677561 and the registration plate 2POD344 from that time. It's precisely this combination of Californian past, Panamericana history and uncompromising engineering that makes this XK120 far more interesting to me than a mere show restoration.
I didn't buy this Jaguar because I simply wanted to own an XK120. I bought it because it had a story that you can't recreate.
When I discovered the car, it was an unfinished competition project with a Californian past and – according to the vehicle's documented history – two entries in the La Carrera Panamericana in 1994 and 1995. Its then-owner Dmytro Martyniuk had already further developed it after the 1995 race to compete again in 1996. That's exactly what fascinated me: the car wasn't "finished and restored", but had stopped mid-development process. I didn't want to make something new from it, but to understand what Dmytro intended and complete that work.
What makes it unique is the contrast. You see one of the most elegant British sports cars of the nineteen-fifties – long bonnet, small cockpit, thin steering wheel, leather, chrome – and experience something completely different when you drive it. Under the bonnet works an XK inline six-cylinder enlarged to approximately four litres with over 300 bhp, light flywheel and three Weber 45s. Add to that a Getrag 265 five-speed gearbox, limited-slip differential, competition brakes and the separate 3+3 stainless steel exhaust system.
But what makes it special can't be explained in a parts list. You have to get in and experience it.
You grasp the thin steering wheel, smell leather, warm oil and a little fuel from the Webers. The engine doesn't run sterile, it lives and vibrates. The long gear lever looks as though you'd need to row through half a metre of scenery, yet thanks to the short-shifter, about ten centimetres suffice. Your hand guides the lever, you feel the mechanism, and then the gear drops in with a dry, precise "clack". It's a small mechanical sound that's addictive.
Then you open up the three Webers. Six intake trumpets draw in air, the big six-cylinder responds instantly and the deep 3+3 exhaust note becomes hard and aggressive as revs rise. Nothing is filtered. No drive mode, no traction control, no computer corrects your right foot. The steering wheel tells you what the front axle is doing, the seat reports what's happening at the rear, and with the throttle you can balance the car beautifully. It's precisely this unfiltered communication that holds the greatest appeal for me.
The gearing is long; at just over 200 km/ h the engine turns only approximately 3, 500 rpm in fifth gear. Technically there's still room for improvement. In a modern GT that would be a speed at which you'd adjust the air conditioning. In the XK120 you look over the small windscreen along the endless bonnet and notice very clearly how fast 200 km/ h actually is. This car transforms speed back into an event.
And then there's a detail that's completely irrational and yet played a role. On the old Californian title is the registration plate 2POD344. I come from Poděbrady. When I saw "POD", I immediately had the feeling that this car had to land with me at some point. After Mexico, Santa Barbara, many years of standing still and a journey across the Atlantic, 2POD344 now actually stands in PODěbrady.
Coincidence? Of course.
But with some cars I prefer to believe in fate.
What I like most about this Jaguar, therefore, isn't just its performance or its rarity. It's the feeling of continuing a story each time that began decades ago. When the gear engages, the Webers open up and the long bonnet rises before me, it doesn't feel like I'm beginning a new drive.
It feels like I'm picking up where Dmytro left off.
