Jaguar C Type
in

Jaguar C-Type rises from the ashes to celebrate its Le Mans victory

JAGUAR C-TYPE PHOTOS: JAGUAR / JAGUAR CONFIGURATOR

Nobody misses that Jaguar E-Type is a car that marked a before and after, both for the manufacturer itself and for the entire industry. It is worth mentioning that Enzo Ferrari himself classified it as the most beautiful car in the world and even dared to say that it would have been a better car if he had taken his prancing Horse instead of the Jaguar seal, which by the way, has nothing romantic and was developed by a company specializing in those things. 

But leaving these things aside, since they do not influence our history at all, we want to travel to 1951. At that time the second season of Formula 1 was being disputed, a championship created the previous year and conquered by Alfa Romeo with Giussepe Farina at the controls, being second Juan Manuel Fangio. That same year, Jaguar won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time with a C-Type, engraving his name in one of the most mythical tests that have been and are still disputed. 

The 24 Hours of Le Mans has a magical aura, it is considered a very special race, just like the Dakar. It is true that before I had much more international weight and winning at La Sarthe had a lot of repercussion all over the world. Today it continues to have a sensational impact and continues with that special aura, but it is not the same. Before, when a brand won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it became the benchmark, which is not happening today with such intensity. 

It is also true that the cars of those years were not even remotely like the current ones. In the 50s, many riders came to the circuit driving the car with which they would participate in the mythical French event, something that today is absolutely unthinkable. That is already something epic in itself, because the cars used were basic cars, with big brakes (but hard as stones), without power steering, without insulation, half the time without a roof and without a seat belt ... 

The best proof of the specials that were those victories is precisely that achieved by Jaguar in that year, which it was able to repeat again two years later, in 1953. The Jaguar C-Type was a sports car with a spine, a very fast car and only suitable for the most accomplished riders and created specifically for competition. Its origin is the Jaguar XK120 (the official name of the C-Type is Jaguar XK120 C, where C is for Competition), the first sports car that Jaguar put into circulation after World War II. In addition, it was introduced very quickly, in 1948. World War II ended in 1945 and things were not enough to buy racing cars, but still the XK120 unleashed a remarkable euphoria. 

Unsurprisingly, after something as despicable as war, all those who could afford it soon began to afford to spend their money on superfluous things, on things that would allow them to forget what they had experienced and try to recover what they had lost. And among those superfluous things were racing cars, such as the Jaguar XK120, which began to compete as early as 1951 and also with great results, how to achieve an average speed at Silverstone of 129,6 km / h

Soon it began to evolve and racing cars were increasingly moving away from standard sports cars. So Jaguar took the XK120 and took it to another level, adding the letter C to its name. The C-Type had just been born, which was entered in 1951 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans without even carrying out any previous tests. A risk that was worth it, because one of the three units registered he broke the fastest lap and distance records. Jaguar took the victory, for the first time in its history, of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and last but not least, breaking two important records. 

It was all thanks to the Jaguar C-Type, equipped with the same six-cylinder in-line of the Jaguar XK but with small revisions that allowed to announce 220 hp, capable of launch the Jaguar model up to 260 km / h. But not only that, because in 1953 he was able to win again taking advantage of a braking that surpassed all rivals by equipping new disc brakes developed together with Dunlop. 

That happened 70 years ago, and now the brand wants to celebrate it by re-manufacturing that magical Jaguar C-Type. The British have found a vein in this mythical car reissue and it is the turn of one of their most important cars. Only 8 units will be manufactured at an unknown price, but surely exorbitant. Each unit can be configured to the taste of each client (you can configure yours in https://classicvisualiser.jaguar.com/), being manufactured at the Jaguar Land Rover Classics Works facilities, in Coventry, in a completely handmade way.

What do you think?

Written by Javi Martin

If you ask me where my love for motoring comes from, I wouldn't know how to answer. It has always been there, although I am the only one in the family who likes this world. My father worked as a draftsman in a metallurgical company with a lot of auto parts production, but there was never a passion like I can have.

I really like automobile history and I am currently creating a personal library dedicated exclusively to motor history in Spain. I also have a huge collection of scanned material and have written the book "The 600, a dream on wheels" (Larousse publishing house).

Subscribe to the newsletter

Once a month in your mail.

Thanks a lot! Do not forget to confirm your subscription through the email that we have just sent you.

Something has gone wrong. Please try again.

60.2 kHappy fans
2.1 kFollowers
3.4 kFollowers
3.8 kFollowers