Jaguar has long been one of the best car manufactures on the globe. They started up from humble beginnings in 1922 and eventually worked their way into the mainstream. Sir William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the company in England, and today it’s located in Coventry. Worldwide, Jaguar employs over 10,000 people and is a top player in their field.

The car manufacturer was turning heads soon after opening in the 1920s. Their SS 100 was a one-of-a-kind car that, unlike many others of the era, didn’t require an onboard mechanic due to constant failures. Jaguars were well put-together pieces of machinery, and after the war, they began working on their XK120 model in 1948.

Originally, the XK120 wasn’t even supposed to be a car. William Lyons had planned on the Jaguar’s body acting as more of a vessel to showcase the new Jaguar XK engine. This inline 6-cylinder engine with a dual overhead camshaft was a beast for its day. The high-torque, low-stress design of the engine made it popular in the automotive world in general.

To sell the engine to the public, Lyons put it in a regular roadster and took it to the London Motor Show in 1948. However, it wasn’t just the engine that revved people up. They were interested in the car. This sparked Lyons to put it into immediate production as the Jaguar XK120.

There was no secret behind the name. The “120” in XK120 was how fast the car could go in miles per hour. This top speed made the Jaguar model the fastest production car in the world in late 1949. The original car to break out in 1949 was the Jaguar XK120 roadster with a convertible top.

Jaguar would later release various versions of the car, from a 2-seater coupe to a fixed-head coupe, but the 1949 original became the quintessential sports car of the era and was definitely the definitive automobile design for the Jaguar line.

The Jaguar XK120 roadster wasn’t exactly what we’d consider to be a safe car by today’s standards. In fact, it was a bit dangerous even for the time. Even still, people loved this car. It was built with an aluminum body over an ash frame. 1950 is when a production-line-style was introduced with pressed-steel, but 1949’s original was basically handcrafted every step of the way.

A straight six with 160 horsepower and a top speed of 120 doesn’t seem very desirable in today’s market. There are family-style vans with more power. In 1949, however, this was an extremely powerful engine for a sports car that anyone could own.

The Motor Magazine decided to road-test the Jaguar in 1949. The XK120 came with a hood (top) and sidescreens in place. Once removed, the car reached a top speed of 124.5 MPH. During a later test, a model with an aluminum under-tray tested at 136 MPH, making it hands-down the fastest production car on the planet.

The XK120’s production continued until 1954, with over 12,000 cars made, but the original in 1949 is still considered by many to be the best of the bunch.