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Plans for a post-war car were made during the Second World War by Swallow Sidecars Ltd. Responsible for the project was William Lyons, who drew the body. But there are some other specialists with different tasks: William M. Heynes and Claude W. Baily designed the engine, Walter Hassan was responsible for the independent front wheel suspension and Bob Knight took care of the chassis. The heart of the new vehicle was the engine. It was improved by Harry Weslake. This  design would be used until the arrival of the V8 in 1997. The XK 120, with its six-cylinder engine, was presented at the London Motor Show in 1948 and became one of the most beautiful sports cars in automobile history.The car stood on the chassis of an Mk V shortened by 18 in for this purpose. The entire body was hammered from an aluminum plate. The car was named XK 120 because it was supposed that it would reach a speed of 120 mph. In 1948 the Jaguar was not only ultra-modern but with its price of less than $1,000 it was also quite inexpensive. Only for two days Lyons achieved the total plan sales. The car had such a great success. By the end of 1949, the first sixty cars had been shipped to America.and by the end of April 1950, the last of the 240 vehicles with aluminum bodies left the factory. To prove if the XK 120 was able to attain the promised top speed of 120 mph, the factory sent a car to Belgium in order to furnish evidence on a section of freeway at Ostende.

Driven by the racing driver Ron Sutton, in the first drive, the car attained a speed of 126 mph. By removing the cloth top and the side windows, the car reached a top speed of 132 mph. A special design for the export market was made. So, in March 1951, a coupe version was presented. Testing of the reliability and fast speed of the car were successfully made. The average speed was of 99.5 mph. In April 1953, a third version of the XK 120 the Drophead coupe was on the market. With its movable windows in the doors, and a “genuine” cloth top, this model provided more comfort to its driver than the roadster. In 1954 the XK 120 was succeeded by the XK 140. The bumpers of the XK 140 were more massive. The steering was also improved. The engine was mounted 3 in forward and the model had better weight distribution than its predecessor. The XK 140 could also be ordered with an electrical overdrive. For the (American) driver, an auto­matic gearbox was added to the options in 1958. In the closed model of the XK 140, the rear passengers had some more space.

For the American market were produced some special models For example : an XK 140 C with the cylin­der head of a C-type racecar and an XK 140 M with two exhausts, spoke wheels and fog lamps. And a car with all these accessories was called the XK 140 MC because the chassis number always ended with an S. This

meant Special Equipment. In March 1958  the fastest production sports car in the world was first presented. This was the last model of this type - the XK 150. The car was much faster than its predecessors. The windshield was made of one piece of glass, and the car seemed to be broader and larger. There were not many mechanical changes . The car was powered by the 3.4 liter engine from the XK 140. Now, there was even an S model for export to America,

with three S.U. carburetors — instead of two. Only the brake system was new. The XK 150 was the first serial car to have four Dunlop disc brakes. An XK 150 won the 24-hour race of Le Mans. In October 1959, the XK 150 could also be delivered with a 3.8 liter six-cylinder engine. The promised top speed of 143 mph was not unrealistic. At that time, the Jaguar was not the fastest sports car in the world anymore, but indeed it was one of the cheapest in its class.

With the successor of the XK 150, the Jaguar E-type or XK-E (so, it was called in America) started  a completely new period for the Jaguar.