NUB120
WHEN I was growing up in rural Yorkshire, it wasn’t posters of pop singers or movie stars that adorned my bedroom wall but classic cars, specifically a certain XK120. Forever known by its registration plate, NUB120, I’ve been fascinated by this car since I was kid and in my eyes it has a larger, more memorable character than whoever might have been at the top of the charts.
Produced in 1950, the cream open-two-seater was one of six special aluminium-bodied, works-prepared cars that featured modified cylinder heads, special shocks, larger tanks and twin fuel pumps. They were then allocated to six favoured drivers with NUB120 going to Ian Appleyard, a rally driver and Leeds-based Jaguar dealer who was also the then sonin-law of Jaguar’s chairman, William Lyons.
Appleyard successfully campaigned the car for the next three seasons, winning the RAC Rally in 1951 and 1953 plus the 1951 Tulip Rally amongst many other victories.
But it was his exploits on the Alpine Rally that made him and the car a household name. Although never an outright winner, in 1952 he and his navigator wife Pat, were awarded the coveted Coupe d’Or for finishing three times in a row without suffering any penalties, a feat only matched by (Sir) Stirling Moss in 1954 and then Jean Vinatier 17 years later.
Appleyard replaced the now tired car in 1953 with a new XK120, registration RUB140. “It never felt the same,” admitted Pat in a 2018 interview. “It had a steel body and didn’t behave as well and somehow it lacked the character.”
In recognition of its achievements, Appleyard returned NUB120 to Jaguar and it has been with the company ever since. It was initially displayed at Browns Lane and later the National Motor Museum.
THE MARKED PAINT, HEAVILY WEATHERED UPHOLSTERY AND FADED RALLY PLATES ARE ALL TESTAMENT TO ITS FORMER LIFE
To preserve the car and guarantee its future, in 1982 the XK120 was gifted to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust where it remains a popular exhibit. In terms of provenance, only Stirling Moss’s 1955 Mille Miglia winning 300 SLR which has always been owned by Mercedes-Benz can rival that of NUB120.
But while that
