1952 Jaguar XK-120 FHC

The XK 120 Coupe introduced in March, 1951, added a steel roof, roll-up windows and a wood-trimmed interior, air vents, glove compartments, map containers in the door, sun visors, interior lights and foot-well vents. The faired-in front parking lights can be clearly seen. The rakish slant of the window frame adds to the sporting appearance. The engine and drive train were similar throughout the line and no distinct modifications were employed on the FHC. This vehicle had slender chrome bumpers and a 12 slat radiator grill. The XK120 had a profound influence on styling of most sports cars of its time. The engine in the XK was one of the first to use a chain driven double-overhead camshaft. It was a very smooth and free revving motor. It was so far ahead of its time that it was in production until 1986. The XK 120 was a faster 0-60 and had a higher top speed than the American Corvette of its time. The only major shortcomings of the 120 were its drum brakes which tended to fade and over heating issues in traffic. Later model XK’s began to use disc brakes and the vehicle became one of the best braking cars of its time. There were 1357 cars of this model produced in 1952 and a total of 3060 XK120 cars produced in that year.