British Racing at Its Best: Jaguar's Type C XK120 Dominates Le Mans!
A British breakthrough! Bentley may have ruled the 1920s, but it was Jaguar’s turn to put Coventry on top of the world in 1951. The reworked XK120C (or C-type) proved too good for the French to match
Peters, Walker (middle) and Whitehead (left) seated on their Jaguar XK120C, which produced a dominant display to win by nine laps from the best of the Talbot-Lagos in 1951. The result would begin Jaguar’s steamroller of Le Mans in the 1950s
Getty Images
A British victory at Le Mans! Thanks to William Lyons for building the new Type “C” XK 120 Jaguar, to Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead for driving one to a brilliant victory, and to Stirling Moss for taking the lap record in another of these Jaguars in the early stages of the world’s most important sports-car race and thus breaking up the Talbot opposition, this came true in the year’s race.
The winning Jaguar covered 2,243.9 miles in the two rounds of the clock, a speed of 93.49mph. 3.76mph faster than last year. They finished, to British cheers, nine laps ahead of a 4½-litre Talbot, driven by Meyrat and Mairesse. Moss’ 105.1mph lap record beat the 1950 Talbot record by 2.26mph.
A grand prix car in a dress. Louis Rosier (right)) and Juan Manuel Fangio (left) pose near their Talbot Lago. But even this prototype was no match for Jaguar