Model HistoryIntent on producing a 100mph saloon, William Lyons knew that a dramatically better power unit was required, and as the war drew to a close, William Heynes and colleagues Walter Hassan and Claude Baily evolved the magnificent XK’ engine.
Inspired by pre-war Grand Prix power units, the new 3.4-litre six-cylinder Jaguar engine boasted overhead camshafts and made its debut not in a saloon but in a sports car – the XK 120. Announced in September 1948 at...
