The 1950s – The C-type, Le Mans and Disc Brakes

After three XK120s made an exploratory trip to Le Mans in 1950, it was realised that Jaguar had the makings of a successful competition car if weight could be saved, and aerodynamics improved. Consequently, William Lyons was persuaded by Heynes and the Manager of the Service Department, Lofty England, that a car should be produced solely with racing in mind.


Hence was born the XK120C, or as the car is more generally known, the C-type.

To reduce weight, a multi-tubular triangulated frame was chosen and designed by Bob Knight. The strength of the design lay in a triangular box of tubes in the middle with sub-frames carrying the engine and front suspension. The crucial center section, which contained the driver and passenger seats, was braced laterally, longitudinally and vertically.

The body was designed by aerodynamicist, Malcolm Sayer, who had joined the company from the aircraft industry. 

Sayer had studied automotive engineering at Loughborough University and then joined the Bristol Aircraft Company where he was immersed in aerodynamics.  Sayer’s brief was to provide a body that was aerodynamically efficient.  His work at Bristol Aircraft during the war was valuable, as he brought a new dimension to Jaguar with his method of working out the required shape mathematically.  This was something that had hitherto been alien to the automotive industry and immediately gave Jaguar an advantage.

Many components were carried over from the production XKs including the engine but with larger exhaust valves, higher lift cams and larger SU carburettors. The engine was tuned to 260 bhp, the brakes were improved, and the rear suspension now used transverse torsion bars. The first cars were ready in the spring of 1951.                                                                    

Almost immediately, three cars were entered at Le Mans for the 1951 race. During the race two cars retired but the third, driven by Peter Whitehead and Peter Walker, won at an average speed of 93 mph (150 km/h).

The C-type had brought Jaguar its first victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race.

The C-type body was modified for the 1952 race, but all the team cars retired with cooling problems.

For the 1953 race Jaguar reverted to the original body design, albeit made of lighter gauge aluminium, and fitted the cars with the revolutionary disc brakes that Jaguar had been developing with Dunlop. 

The three cars entered finished first, second and fourth. 

The winners, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton, averaged a speed of over 100 mph (161 km/h) for the first time in the history of the Le Mans race.