157 Jaguar XK120 Sports Coupe (1954-62)

Well Bruce, this happens to be the first time that I received MC so early (yesterday 27 January). I used to buy loose copies (only when they contain stuff that I like) in a bookshop in Amsterdam. These are rather irregular and late, so I missed the Foden 2 article issue you just mentioned. Now Lindsey, insisting on me to accept some kind of 'reward' for my calendar article in the January issue, offered me a free year long subscription (on my suggestion), so for the first time I received it with the mail - and indeed, that mail appears to be more in time than for the opposite side of the globe! Kind regards, Jan

I also subscribe to Model Collector and got mine about 8 - 10 days ago. Subscribers in the UK get theirs about a week before they appear in the shops. Dave

I found this one somewhere in france ! Cheers Richard

I found some interesting information about the prototype of DT 157 in an article with title: Jaguar XK: the definitive 1950s British sports car by DrjohnWright (shannons.com.au/club/news/search/) and other worth knowing not yet discussed here. Most related text and photos are from this article and some other open sources. The Jaguar models are my favourites and the background of the prototypes interests me very much. The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. As already stated in #20 en #21 is the prototype of DT 157 a Jaguar 120XK Fixed Head Coup (FHC). Many photos are already shown in this topic, but no background information about this model is added, while the development of this model with his famous XK engine is just very interesting. The most essential part of a model is yet his prototype. Documentation tells that this FHC model was first available from 1951, especially for the North American market. 700 436 This one-off SS Jaguar 100 Fixed Head Coup was prepared for the 1938 London Motor Show. In some respects it foreshadowed the 1951 XK120 Fixed Head Coup. 700 394 The XK120 Fixed Head Coup was launched in 1951 and aimed principally at the North American market. The XK120 was shown at the 1948 British International Motor Show as a concept car to test the new Jaguar engine. However, the design was so successful that Jaguar decided to put the car into production. 700 516 The Jaguar stand at the first postwar London Motor Show held at Earls Court in October 1948 promised a new era of excitement for the British car industry. Export or Die! was the governments imperative. 700 465 The XK engine made its public debut in 1948 but powered generations of Jaguars for more than four decades till 1992. With alloy cylinder head and twin side-draft SU carburetors, the dual overhead-cam 3.4 litre straight-6 XK engine was comparatively advanced for a mass-produced unit of the time. With standard 8:1 compression ratio it developed 160 bhp (119 kW), using 80 octane fuel. Most of the early cars were exported; a 7:1 low-compression version, with consequently reduced performance, was reserved for the UK market, where the post-war austerity measures then in force restricted buyers to 70 octane 'Pool petrol'. This was the Export or Die era for British industry. The XK120 offers perhaps the most graphic illustration of how this worked in practice. Lyons was only able to obtain the raw materials he needed to manufacture cars by guaranteeing to sell most of his vehicles overseas because the country direly needed export pounds for its ravaged economy. The XK120 was ultimately available in three versions or body styles, first as an open 2-seater described in the US market as a roadster (OTS - open two-seater) then as a fixed head coup (FHC) from 1951 and finally as a drophead coup (DHC) from 1953, all two-seaters and available with Left (LHD) or Right Hand Drive (RHD). However, certain Special Equipment roadster and fixed head coup cars were produced between 1948 and 1949 denoted by an 'S' preceding the chassis number. These Special Equipment cars were sold as an early production build for enthusiasts. The '120' in the XK120 name refers to the top speed of 120 mph (192 km/h), making the XK120 the fastest production car of its time. On 30 May 1949, on the empty Ostend-Jabbeke motorway in Belgium, a prototype XK120 timed by the officials of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium achieved an average of runs in opposing directions of 132.6 mph with the windscreen replaced by just one small aero screen and a catalogued alternative top gear ratio, and 135 mph with a passenger-side tonneau cover in place. In 1950 and 1951, at Autodrome de Linas-Monthry, a banked oval track in France, open XK120s averaged over 100 mph for 24 hours and over 130 mph for an hour. In 1952 a fixed-head coup took numerous world records for speed and distance when it averaged 100 mph for a week. XK120s were also highly successful in racing and rallying. In 1949 the first production car, chassis number 670003, was delivered to Clark Gable. 700 392 The first Jaguar XK120 delivery to Clark Gable by Sir William Lyons. Note the license plate from California dated 1950. Export or Die! was the governments imperative. 700 525 Humphrey Bogart with his Jaguar XK 120 with California license plate dated 1950. 700 475 1951 Jaguar XK 120 Fixed Head Coupe Dealer Sales Brochure 700 467 1951 Jaguar XK120 - export left handed - 2016 Shanghai Auto Museum 700 466 1952 Jaguar XK 120 Fixed Head Coupe rear side with separate bumpers and taillights. Also with the original removable spats (fender skirts) This model is in the Louwman museum in The Hague, has never been restored and still bears its original Dutch license plate. The metallic blue paint is original. Almost 2700 copies of this XK120 Fixed Head Coup model are built, of which only 195 with the steering wheel on the right side, because most Jaguars are intended for export. 700 419 My DT 157 Jaguar XK 120 rear side with bumpers and taillights. Not yet shown in this topic. 700 569 Introduction of Dinky Toys 157 Jaguar XK 120 coup in MM UK March 1954 700 419 My 157 Jaguars XK120 Coup 700 419 DT 157 Jaguar XK 120 with number 157 in baseplate. Not yet shown in this topic. 603 900 First advertisement of renumbering in MM UK March 1954 According to Meccano Magazine UK, DT model 157 was issued in March 1954. That was in the beginning of the renumbering period as seen in the first advertisement of renumbering, also in MM March 1954 above. The assignment of number 157 to this model is directly related to the renumbering, as explained below. Changing sales number 139d to 157: 700 897 Memo 20112 index DT Job Lists Meccano Liverpool with new number 157 for 139d It was the original intention to use the number 139d, which is in line with model 139a, 139b and the unreleased but planned number 139c for the 172 Studebaker Land Cruiser, as described under #3 in topic 172. The above document shows that Meccano Liverpool had the intention to give model 157 first the number 139d. Due to the rules of the renumbering, which wanted to get rid of the old numerical + alphabetical numbering system, the number 139d could not be maintained. So this model was classified in the series 150 British Saloons and received the number 157. Richardson listed in GBofDT among the List of Meccano Drawings on page 190, Meccano Drawing Job No. 13867 Base for Jaguar dated 30.10.52 as significant changes: 16.6.53 sales no. changed to 157. If only a number were added to the base plate instead of changed, Meccano Liverpool would use the text: sales no. 157 added but in this case an existing/intended number 139d was changed to the new number 157. Jacques also refers to number 139d for this model in his DT encyclopedia. <u>Note</u>: Thanks to the recently added documents in the PDF library I was able to confirm my suspicion about the old number 139d with this memo document. Jan Oldenhuis, 9 February 2023.

A very comprehensive assessment, as usual Jan. They nearly got the rear window right but not quite. You can clearly see how Jaguar designers took their insiration from the previous year's introduction of the Morris Minor.