- 6,964
- South Africa
...Warning: this ain't no average XK120.
I fully understand if you think I lost my marbles by calling this a Jag XK. But it's true. This is a XK120.
Sort of.
An architect named Don Parkinson raced a XK120 as a hobby, but on May 1951, he ran out of talent in a Pebble Beach race and wrapped it around a tree. Luckily, he walked out of the wreckage relatively unscathed. Can't say the same thing for his man-pride, though.
He contacted International Motors in Hollywood, and asked for a rebuild. A mechanic named Joe Thrall, with the help of designer Robert Cumberford, CN. 670191 was turned into a lightweight racer.
The result was this, a Jag that wasn't a Jag. It weighs less than 2000 pounds, too. So you can imagine the performance of this thing - it's immense.
Even though this car was completed and began competing from late 1951, I chose the year 1952, as that was when Mr. Parkinson thought the standard 3.4 inline six was no longer sufficient for his needs and had its displacement increased to 3.8. Poooowwweerrr...
It was fully restored back in 1983, with the help of original fabricator of the body Marvin Faw. And it has been a regular feature in historic racing scene ever since.
Here are some specs:
Power: around 250 horses at 5500 rpm.
Torque: 325 NM, or 240 foot-pounds.
Weight: 907 kilos, or as-near-as-damn-it, 2000 pounds.
As usual, if you have more info, do share!! Thanks.
I fully understand if you think I lost my marbles by calling this a Jag XK. But it's true. This is a XK120.
Sort of.
An architect named Don Parkinson raced a XK120 as a hobby, but on May 1951, he ran out of talent in a Pebble Beach race and wrapped it around a tree. Luckily, he walked out of the wreckage relatively unscathed. Can't say the same thing for his man-pride, though.
He contacted International Motors in Hollywood, and asked for a rebuild. A mechanic named Joe Thrall, with the help of designer Robert Cumberford, CN. 670191 was turned into a lightweight racer.
The result was this, a Jag that wasn't a Jag. It weighs less than 2000 pounds, too. So you can imagine the performance of this thing - it's immense.
Even though this car was completed and began competing from late 1951, I chose the year 1952, as that was when Mr. Parkinson thought the standard 3.4 inline six was no longer sufficient for his needs and had its displacement increased to 3.8. Poooowwweerrr...
It was fully restored back in 1983, with the help of original fabricator of the body Marvin Faw. And it has been a regular feature in historic racing scene ever since.
Here are some specs:
Power: around 250 horses at 5500 rpm.
Torque: 325 NM, or 240 foot-pounds.
Weight: 907 kilos, or as-near-as-damn-it, 2000 pounds.
As usual, if you have more info, do share!! Thanks.
)
