1951 Jaguar XK120 Works LT3 – Del Monte Trophy Race Group

Phil Hill 1951 Palm Springs *(Hill Family Archive)*

The extraordinary 1951 Jaguar XK120 Works Lightweight LT3 Jaguar with Abbey Panels – an Open Two Seater chassis number 660741 – as acquired in 2026 by Jim and Lisa Hendrix and prepared for showing at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 16, 2026. The car is steeped in race history.

Engine no. unnumbered block,
Cylinder head E-1012-8 (ex C-type)
3,442cc DOHC Inline 6-Cylinder Engine, Twin SU carburetors, 180bhp at 5,200rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission, Independent Front Suspension, Rear Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs, 4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
One of only 3 Works Lightweight XK120s built for potential use at Le Mans
Purchased new by Charles Hornburg and campaigned by him in USA
Raced by Phil Hill, Sherwood Johnson and John von Neumann for Hornburg

Recorded on the Del Monte Trophy Race Group Register at No.66 (https://dmtrg.com/the-definition/)

For an American collector – and for anyone who reveres Jaguar’s golden era – few cars equal the allure of a factory-built racing XK120 driven in period by Phil Hill: a man who would become America’s first Formula One World Champion (1961) and three – time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 1951 Jaguar prepared to return to La Sarthe with a bold new weapon, the space-framed C-Type. But William Lyons, ever pragmatic, would not entrust his Le Mans ambitions to a single plan. As insurance, he authorized a trio of specialized XK120 racers-lighter, leaner, and built with quiet urgency- should the C-Types fail to be ready. They were known simply as LT1, LT2, LT3.
Though rooted in modified XK120 running gear, the rare factory LT cars wore something more exotic: ultra-lightweight aluminum bodies crafted by Abbey Panels, shaped over a Superleggera-style framework. Only LT2 and LT3 were completed, and when it became clear the C-Types would make the race, the LT pair sat mothballed at Browns Lane, their destiny paused.
Then fate intervened. Charles Hornburg, Jaguar’s West Coast distributor, saw the sleeping potential in these two extraordinary machines. With production C-Types still some distance away, he struck a deal with Lyons and brought LT2 and LT3 to America in August 1951, determined to prove Jaguar’s strength on U.S. circuits.
For that task, Hornburg selected two gifted Californians: an ambitious young driver already making waves in XK120 competition-Phil Hill and Sherwood Johnston.
LT3 debuted at Elkhart Lake on August 26, 1951, where Hill guided it to 3rd overall and 1st in class, beginning a story as compelling today as it was in that first season of promise. LT3’s fourth race and first of 1952 took place at the Pebble Beach Road Race leading to a 5th overall finish.