At the end of World War II, The United Kingdom attempted a fast economic recovery by producing pre-war cars in a hurry. It was in this recovery-state climate that the Jaguar XK 120 Roadster made its initial debut. When it was first introduced as a concept car in 1948, the XK 120 Roadster was utterly modern and even considered avant-garde. Designed by one of the founders of the company, the legendary Sir William Lyons, the car turned out to be a designer's dream comes true. A fact made even more astonishing considering Lyons was never trained to draw and consequently designed primarily using 3-D mock-ups.

The contemporary lines and modern design were Jaguar's effort to showcase the extraordinary new twin-cam, inline 6-cylinder engine. The result was a breathtakingly beautiful fast car. With its largely hand-built aluminum body the XK 120 was never intended to go into full-scale production but the 120 mph performance and its unusually affordable price made it irresistible to the public and as a result, the car went into limited production. The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium has the car on record to have achieved a top speed of 136.596 mph, making it the world's fastest production car in May of 1949. The car proved extremely successful and Jaguar re-engineered the car with steel bodies to suit the demand and mass production. 1954 is the last year that Jaguar produced the XK 120, which renders this particular car as one of the most developed and refined models of its kind. Jaguar eventually added a coupe model and a drop-head coupe but the Roadster always remained the most beautiful in the line.

-- VICTOR VARGAS