Spark S2110; Jaguar XK120 Roadster; 1950 24h Le Mans DNF; Johnson & Hadley; RN17

In 1950 Jaguar allocated six alloy-bodied XK120s to drivers Leslie Johnson, Peter Walker, Nick Haines, Clemente Biondetti, Ian Appleyard and Tommy Wisdom.

Three of the allocated cars, extensively modified, entered the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours race. Johnson, who spearheaded this factory-supported assault on the race with co-driver Bert Hadley, never ran lower than seventh place, and held second for two hours, but in the 21st hour had to retire from third place with clutch failure caused by using the gears to slow the car in the absence of brakes. (As a result, the clutch was revised to a more robust design for production models.) The Jaguar had been closing the gap to leader Louis Rosier, whose Talbot's pace was significantly slower, at a rate that would have secured victory. Haines, with co-driver Peter Clark, finished 12th, and Walker's car, driven by Peter Whitehead and John Marshall, was 15th. The results convinced William Lyons and William Heynes, Chief Engineer, it was worth investing in future success at Le Mans.

This resin model by Spark is from the collection of Tony Smith.