History
of Jaguar C-Type
 Jaguar
C-Type Manufacturer Jaguar Cars Production 1951–1953 Successor Jaguar D-type Class
Competition-Sports car Body style(s) Roadster The Jaguar C-Type (also called the
Jaguar XK120-C) is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953.
The "C" designation stood for 'competition'. The car used the running gear of
the contemporary XK120 in a lightweight tubular frame and aerodynamic aluminium
body. A total of 52 C-Types were built.
The C-Type was successful in racing, most notably at the Le Mans 24 hours race,
which it won twice.
In 1951 the car won at its first attempt. The factory entered three, whose driver
pairings were Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman, Leslie Johnson and 3-times Mille
Miglia winner Clemente Biondetti, and the eventual winners, Peter Walker and Peter
Whitehead. The Walker/Whitehead car was the only factory entry to finish, the
other two retiring with lack of oil pressure. A privately entered XK120, owned
by Robert Lawrie, co-driven by Ivan Waller, also completed the race, finishing
11th.
In 1952 Jaguar, worried by a report about the speed of the Mercedes-Benz 300SLs
that would run at Le Mans, modified the C-Type’s aerodynamics to increase the
top speed. However, the consequent rearrangement of the cooling system made the
car vulnerable to overheating.[1] All three retired from the race. The Peter Whitehead/Ian
Stewart and Tony Rolt/Duncan Hamilton cars blew head gaskets, and the Stirling
Moss/Peter Walker car, the only one not overheating, lost oil pressure after a
mechanical breakage.
In 1953 a C-Type won again. This time the body was in thinner, lighter aluminium
and the original triple SU carburetors were replaced by three Webers, which helped
boost power to 220 bhp (164 kW). Philip Porter mentions additional changes:
Further weight was saved by using a rubber bag fuel tank . . .lighter electrical
equipment and thinner gauge steel for some of the chassis tubes. The most significant
change to the cars was the [switch to] disc brakes.”
Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt won the race at 105.85 mph {170.34 km/h} – the first
time Le Mans had been won at an average of over 100 mph. 1954, the C-Type's final
year at Le Mans, saw a fourth place by the Ecurie Francorchamps entry driven by
Roger Laurent and Jacques Swaters.
The road-going XK120’s 3.4 litre twin-cam, straight-6 engine produced between
160 and 180 bhp (134 kW). The version in the C-Type was originally tuned to around
205 bhp (153 kW). Later C-Types were more powerful, using triple twin-choke Weber
carburettors and high-lift camshafts. They were also lighter, and from 1952 braking
performance was improved by disc brakes on all four wheels. The lightweight, multi-tubular,
triangulated frame was designed by Bob Knight. The aerodynamic body was designed
by Malcolm Sayer. Made of aluminium in the barchetta style, it was devoid of road-going
items such as carpets, weather equipment and exterior door handles.
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