For the Earls Court Motor Show in 1948, the coming-out party for the postwar British car industry, Jaguar featured a low, sleek sports car built to showcase the new twin-cam straight-six dubbed the XK. Jaguar boss William Lyons had also decided after the war to drop the name of his company, SS, in favor of the much more evocative, powerful name of its pre-war SS 100 sports car: Jaguar. The sports car that debuted at Earls Court became known as the XK 120, XK for the new engine; 120 for its top speed. Lyons hadn't really intended the XK120 to be anything more than a one-off showpiece for the engine, but the car caused a sensation that he couldn't ignore. One journalist even commented that "all preconceived notions as to what was a series-production sports car disappeared overnight." Indeed, the XK 120 became one of the most revered automobiles of the postwar era and is highly collectible today.

This Jaguar XK 120 Roadster is a full ground up restored car finished in Old English White over a red Connolly leather interior. It has steel wheels, wide whitewall tires, Lucas headlamps and driving lamps, rear wheel spats, tonneau cover and new side curtains. As a properly and attentively restored car that has seen some light use, this is the perfect XK 120 to enjoy on spirited drives, just as it was designed to be. The purest and most elegant of the original XK series, the XK 120 Roadster (known as the Open Two Seater in the English-speaking world) is a thoroughly rewarding car both to look at and to drive, and this is an ideal example that is ready to be driven and enjoyed immediately.

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