The Ex - Roy Salvadori
1950 Jaguar XK120
Period Competition Roadster
‘Give me Goodwood on a summer’s day and you can keep the rest’ - Roy Salvadori, race winner at Goodwood and owner of this very car in 1952, bringing a present-day context to Salvadori’s famous remark.
Sold to fellow racer Peter Blond in 1952, becoming his first racing car and companion to Blond on many adventures.
Acquired by JD Classics from long term ownership in 2008 and subject of an exhaustive restoration to concours standards while being simultaneously race prepared, with photo record on file.
Raced at the Le Mans Classic and participant in the famous Mille Miglia on no less than five occasions, the first being as a works Jaguar entry, piloted by David Gandy and Yasmin Le Bon.
Immaculately maintained today, HBC 226 presents a wealth of use opportunities to its new custodian including the Mille Miglia, Le Mans Classic, Tour Auto, MRL Woodcote Trophy and much more.
Price: £POA
Status: UK Registered
Chassis Number: 660363
The Jaguar XK120 signalled a generation change when it was revealed to the public at the 1948 London Motor Show. In the post-war years, the XK120 was a true pioneering sports-car and a departure from the previous models of not only Jaguar but all manufacturers of the time.
A quick search today of what the motoring landscape looked like in 1948 highlights just how significant the changes were.
Named the XK120 because of its 120 mph top speed, it was the fastest production car in the world. Jaguar achieved this title while maintaining comfort for touring, which made it a popular purchase in both Europe and the USA.
The high-performance nature of the XK120 led to on-track success in works backed and private hands. The first victory came in 1949 at Silverstone, and by 1951 XK120s were competing at Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Alpine Rally.
Their success pioneered the ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ concept and led to the Jaguar successes of the C-Type, D-Type and E-Types. They all shared the Jaguar XK six-cylinder, twin overhead cam engine design that debuted in the XK120 and remained in production for 44 years.
This car, HBC 226
Jaguar XK120 HBC 226 was manufactured on the 28th November 1950 and dispatched on the 6th December 1950 to distributor Walter E. Sturgess. With chassis number 660363, HBC was painted in Bronze with a Biscuit and Tan interior and Fawn soft top.
By 1951, HBC 226 had found its way into the hands of car dealer and future Le Mans 24 Hours winner, Roy Salvadori. Having suffered a severe accident in his first race with a Frazer-Nash Le Mans Rep at Silverstone in early ’51, Salvadori was read his last writes. Upon his remarkable recovery, Salvadori took possession of HBC 226 while the Frazer-Nash underwent a more lengthy rebuild.
Salvadori’s competition debut with HBC 226 came at Boreham on the 11th August 1951. Racing in multiple races on the same day, he took 3rd place in the William Lyons Trophy and repeated the result in the National Unlimited race.
The next outing came at Castle Combe on the 3rd May 1952 where he took 2nd place in the National Unlimited race and 3rd in Formula Libre. Three weeks later, Salvadori was at Silverstone with HBC 226 for the next National Unlimited race, where he again took 2nd place. On the 21st June, Salvadori returned to Boreham and took a trio of 2nd places with HBC 226 in the XK120 race, Over 1.5-litre Handicap and the Unlimited Scratch race.
Salvadori’s on-track exploits had made many take note, and wealthy Irishman Bobby Baird offered him a drive in his Ferrari 500 Formula 2 for the 1952 British Grand Prix on the 19th July 1952.
The following week, Salvadori returned to HBC 226 at Goodwood for the 10th Members’ Meeting, where he swiftly took victory in the Handicap race. Also competing in the Over 3-litre Sportscar race, Salvadori took a 4th place finish to round out the day.
HBC 226 was then traded by Salvadori with Peter Blond, taking a Jaguar SS100 in part exchange. Blond, who was yet to compete in his first race, was said to have gone to Silverstone with his new XK120, taking straight to the track without any official blessing. He proceeded to carry out a few high speed laps before track manager Jimmy Brown stopped him.
Joining a team of XK120s for the 750 Motor Club 6 Hour Relay at Silverstone on the 30th August, Blond began his racing career with HBC 226. A month later, he returned to Silverstone for the Peterborough Motor Club’s meeting and took 2nd place in the Over 2-Litre Sports race.
Blond travelled down to Le Mans in HBC 226 for the 1954 24 Hours, where Salvadori was competing for Aston Martin in a works DB3S. Blond thought to sample the Circuit de la Sarthe, since the roads had by now been closed, only to be confronted by a line of gendarmes. Blond claimed to be a reserve driver for one of the teams and managed to avoid banishment from the event.
Blond would go on to realise his ambition of racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours and became a member of the BRDC in 1956, while HBC 226 was sold on. By 1955, HBC 226 was offered for sale by Performance Cars Ltd. of Middlesex. In 1968 it changed hands again, sold by Colin Lee of Lakeview Motors in Berkshire to Alan Hollyfield as salvage as summarised in the original bill of sale within the file. By 1978, HBC 226 had come to be owned by Terence Osborne of London and was recorded as red in colour.
HBC 226 remained in Osborne’s long term ownership before it was acquired by JD Classics in 2009. A full and exhaustive restoration commenced, with a photo record on file, and HBC 226 was not only completed to an exceptional standard but prepared for FIA racing simultaneously.
Having been returned to its original colours of metallic Bronze with a biscuit and tan interior, HBC 226 competed with JD Classics at Classic Le Mans, Donington Park and Brands Hatch, achieving 12th overall at Le Mans in Plateau 2.
At the 2013 Mille Miglia, HBC 226 was an official Jaguar works entry where it was piloted by models David Gandy and Yasmin Le Bon. HBC 226 subsequently returned to the Mille Miglia in 2014 and most recently in 2023.
HBC 226 has also graced the concours lawn, taking Best in Class at the 2013 Hurlingham Club Concours, a testament to its restoration and preparation, having just completed the Mille Miglia a few weeks earlier.
HBC 226, resplendent in its attractive original Bronze colour, is not only one of the most distinctive XK120s but one of the most successful, having competed in period with not one but two prominent British racing drivers.
Roy Salvadori was greater than that however, he was overall Le Mans Winner for Aston Martin with Carroll Shelby and regarded as one of the very best British drivers of the period.
Salvadori famously remarked “Give me Goodwood on a summer’s day and you can keep the rest”, and what better a tribute than to return HBC 226 to the West Sussex circuit, where he took one of his earliest victories in this very car?
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