A Jaguar XK120 ‘Started the Whole Car Thing’ for Jay Leno
For the world’s most famous car guy, a legendary Jaguar was the machine that started it all.
For the record, I think Jay Leno is a lot more fun to watch when he’s not trying to be funny. The whole stunt he pulled with The Tonight Show, where he yanked the rug out from under Conan O’Brien? That left a bad taste in my mouth — I’m Team Coco forever.
But when he’s talking about cars, whether they be ones that roll into his shop, or something from his vast and varied — see the Nazi-killing Tatra — collection, he’s great to watch. Safe to say, the world’s most famous car guy has great taste in cars. And it was seeing a Jaguar XK120 that started his obsession with all things automotive.
In this video, Leno talks about how he was a little kid, and out riding his bike, when he spotted some guy polishing his XK120. The machine proved captivating enough that he stood and stared for a while, long enough that the kindhearted owner actually asked the future comedian if he wanted to sit in it. I think that’s pretty cool because while I will never have a car collection as extensive and awesome as Leno’s, it was seeing a random Jaguar on the street that made me fall in love with cars too.
Honestly, the way he describes how different the XK120 looked from the machines he was used to seeing? That’s exactly, 100%, how I felt seeing my first Jaguar.
The Jaguar in this video is actually the first collectible car that Leno bought, in the early 1980s, when he was able to afford something which didn’t have to serve as his daily driver. As you’d expect, it’s been lovingly restored and tastefully modified. One of the things that’s truly great about Leno is that he actually drives the special cars he owns, and doesn’t just rub them with a diaper.
In the video, he discussed how while he upgraded the original 3.4-liter engine to the 3.8-liter unit, he left the original Alfin brake drums intact, and didn’t opt for the disc brakes. The reason he cites is that it’s easy to use the gearbox to slow down, and that the original drums look great when they’re all polished up. It’s the kind of thing an actual driver, and not someone who just writes checks would say, and I imagine it’s something that’ll ring true to a lot of fans on here on the forum.
Since it happens so early in the clip, it’s not a spoiler to say that the guy whose Jaguar Jay checked out way back in the day makes an appearance in the video. Though his XK had been sitting in a barn for years, he still owned it when this footage was shot a few years back. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Leno didn’t take the neglected-but-very-restorable machine back to his experts in California. That sure seems like something I’d do if I was in his shoes, but who knows? Maybe the old guy just couldn’t bear to let it go.
Check out the video below, if for no other reason than to hear some excellent audio of Jay running the 3.8-liter XK motor through the gears. And make sure to let me know if you have a story about the XK or any other old Jaguars. I’d love to feature your story it on the blog!
Photos: YouTube