Jaguar's racing program began with the XK120C or C-Type as it is more commonly known. Based on the XK120, the world's fastest production car, the new C-Type was Jaguar's first purpose built race car.
Before the C-Type
Shortly after world war two, endurance racing was becoming increasing popular. The highlight of each season was the 24 hours of Le Mans where Jaguar had little previous history. In 1950, three privately prepared Jaguar XK120's raced at LeMans. After taking twelfth place with their production XK120, Peter Clark and Nick Haines proved the car was competitive against the Aston Martin DB2, Talbot Lago T26 GS and Ferrari 166MM. This outstanding result was taken by surprise, especially considering that the XK120 was never intended as an endurance racecar.
After the positive results achieved at the 1950 LeMans, Jaguar had motivation to prepare a race version of their road-going supercar. The new XK120-C was a competition car focused on taking the spotlight at LeMans.
C-Type in Detail
Most of the mechanics on the C-Type were lent from the Jaguar XK120 as released in 1950. Many components including the brakes, engine, transmission and carburetion remained largely unchanged. Modifications to the 3.5-liter, overhead-cam engine were done under the direction of Henry Weslake. These included new camshafts, pistons, a lighter flywheel and dual exhaust headers. With mild tuning, the C-Type engine produced roughly twenty percent additional horsepower.
It was the body and frame which separated the C-Type from the XK120. The standard XK120 frame was replaced by a new tubular design which laid the foundation for C-Type. The chassis was engineered from 16-gauge tubing with drilled channel-section members. The entire structure is triangulated which provided for excellent rigidity.
Covering the chassis, was a new body designed by Malcom Sayer. It was both beautiful and aerodynamically efficient. For accessibility, both the front and rear sections of the body were one-piece and could be easily removed. This design was retained up to the Jaguar E-Type.
Both the aluminum body and tubular frame contributed to the C-Type's exceptional power-to-weight ratio. The weight of the car and rigidity of the chassis made the C-Type a world class endurance racecar.
The first race, 1951 LeMans
For the 1951 LeMans race, three C-Types were introduced to both the public and motor racing. These cars stirred a lot of attention and faced stiff factory-backed competition from Talbot , Aston Martin and Ferrari. During the race two Jaguar entries had retired including the team of Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman who set a record pace of 105.2 average mph. With the only remaining Jaguar, Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead took the overall victory. This provided Jaguar with huge publicity and acclaim. Fresh victory motivated Jaguar to continue their racing program.
Shortly after Lemans, Jaguar made plans and to sell the C-Type as a production car. This not only shows the openness of Jaguar, but their eagerness to provide the public, and not just the elite, with competitive machines. In total, 53 production C-Types were made which resemble the works cars of 1951. These cars reached all parts of the world including America and most of their publications.
After winning its initial race in 1952, the Type-C, and subsuquent Type-D, dominated future LeMans events. In total, five outright victories were achieved during the decade.
Conclusion
Not to be confused with the touring car it is based off, the 1951 XK120C is an all out race car. It represents a successful part of motor sport history that includes the beginning of Jaguar racing. Furthermore, the C-Type combines the traits of all great cars: timeless styling and neutral handling with latent power. |
