Jaguar Mark V
In September 1948 Jaguar announced its first post-war, temporary model. Straitened circumstances did not allow it to create something more radical, and the model Mark V was the bearer of glory a couple of years. The main innovation was independent front suspension, developed by Haynes. By that time, was created a powerful new engine, but it was decided that the Mark V is overly conservative for it, so the sedan model with a soft convertible Mark V was equipped with the usual 2.5 and 3.5-liter power units. Lyons said that the capacity of the new engine will make 160. After considering several options for configuration, designers have chosen overhead camshaft and took the final decision regarding the engine. It was a straight six-cylinder engine of 3442 cm3 which has received the name XK. The achieved capacity was 160 ho! Now the Jaguar had an excellent new chassis, extremely powerful new engine, but it was no sports car. It was decided to issue a small number of sports cars to maintain popularity and possibly successful participation in the race. Before William Lyons arose the problem to develop the appropriate body to take part in motor shows in 1948 in just a few months.
The result exceeded all expectations. The model is known as the XK120, and it was destined to become one of the greatest sports cars of all time. It was not just a racing machine. The car had a characteristic style of Jaguar refinement, unprecedented for this type of vehicle comfort. The maximum speed allowed the XK120 to be the fastest production car in the world. To convince the skeptics this standard XK120 set a record of 126 miles per hour on a closed section of the road with two-way traffic in Jabbeke in Belgium in the presence of the press.
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