This No-Reserve 1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster Is Still A Bargain With Days Left To BidMotoriousElizabeth PuckettThu, September 17, 2026 at 8:15 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleThis No-Reserve 1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster Is Still A Bargain With Days Left To BidFew cars did more to define the modern sports car than the Jaguar XK120, and one of the prettiest examples we have seen in a while is winding down its auction on Bring a Trailer, where bidding is still well short of where this car deserves to land. The no-reserve listing means someone is taking this red 1952 roadster home on September 18, and right now the number on the screen looks like a genuine opportunity.Chassis 672051 was completed on April 17, 1952, and came to the United States through Max Hoffman in New York City, the importer who did more than anyone to sell Americans on European sports cars. That provenance alone gives the car a story, and a Jaguar Heritage Trust Production Record Trace certificate backs it up, along with a binder of documentation and a clean California title.The XK120 left the factory in Pastel Green over Suede Green, and while purists will note that it was repainted red during a late-1990s refurbishment, the combination works beautifully in the listing photos. Tan leather seats with color-matched door panels, beige carpets, and a tan soft top with removable side curtains give the cabin the warm, lived-in feel that these cars wear so well. Rear wheel skirts, body-color 16-inch steel wheels with painted hubcaps, and a polished single exhaust outlet complete one of the most flattering looks Jaguar ever put on sale.AdvertisementAdvertisementUnder that long hood sits the reason the XK120 mattered in the first place: Jaguar's 3.4-liter DOHC inline-six, here fed by dual SU carburetors and backed by a four-speed manual. In 1952, this was the engine that made a production car capable of 120 mph, and it is still one of the great-sounding sixes of the postwar era. The seller has kept up with it, too, with 2025 work covering an oil leak repair, fresh spark plugs, new coolant and differential fluid, and replacement radiator hoses.Brakes are drums at all four corners, as they should be, and 2023 sorted the front brake hoses and rear wheel cylinders. The same year brought a new fuel level sending unit, fuel gauge, and speedometer cable. Behind the four-spoke wheel, the central instrument panel still carries its Smiths reverse-sweep 6,000-rpm tachometer with an inset clock and a 140-mph speedometer, which is exactly the view you want from a car like this. The five-digit odometer reads 1,500 miles with total mileage unknown, roughly 100 of those added under current ownership.A tool roll, a car cover, a matching spare, and 185-series Pirelli Cinturato tires round out a package that is ready to be enjoyed rather than restored. Clean, documented XK120 roadsters have been climbing for years, and one offered without a reserve does not come along every week. Bidding sits at $34,800 in Livermore, California, with four days to go, and Bring a Trailer Verified Checkout is available to make the handoff easy.Photos courtesy of Bring a Trailer.⚡️ Read the full article on MotoriousSign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.