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Once the fastest car in the world, the C-Type is a Le-Mans-winning icon and one of the greatest British sports cars ever made.

The British Isle has given us some of the most iconic sports cars since Morris Garage introduced the first bona fide British sports car in 1923. Although the company is no longer the marquee it used to be, other companies later came and kept the British roadster spirit alive. Jaguar is one of them, and any list of iconic British cars is incomplete without one of their cars.

In 1948, Jaguarintroduced the XK-120, which was capable of hitting 120 mph, thus becoming the fastest car in the world. It began as a prototype to showcase the company's XK inline six-cylinder engine. But the car drew rave admiration from the car world that Jaguar put it into production. Enter 1950, the sports car racing scene was heating up, and manufacturers had to compete and win to be taken seriously. Jaguar entered three mildly modified XK120 into the 1950 Le Mans, with one getting as high as second place. The next year they would bring a completely made-over car, the XK120C, also known as the C-Type. Here's why we love the Jaguar C-Type.

The popular 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race has been held yearly near the French town Le Mans since 1923. Over the years, it has resulted in timeless icons who made their name by winning the event. The battle between Ferrari and Ford is public knowledge and is subject to a Hollywood blockbuster. Jaguar made their debut with the XK120 in 1951, and the race has a special place in Jaguar fans.

They have won the race seven times. The C-Type brought the first win in 1951 on its first attempt, followed by the second win in 1953.

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Jaguar understood that a successful race-winning car had to be as lightweight as possible to capitalize on performance. To improve the second position achieved by the XK120, managing director William Lyons asked for a complete makeover, getting rid of the heavy steel chassis for a more rigid body and significant weight drop.

The answer was a new lightweight body sitting on a tubular frame chassis. It was among the first of its type. On top of it was a lightweight alloy bodywork by Malcolm Sayer to achieve insane aero-efficiency.

Barchetta-style cars featured a full-width enveloping bodywork and is different from the early spider Corsa from the lack of wing fenders. The style began with the Italians and translated to "little boat" in English. They were small open-top sports cars without the provision of a removable or foldable top, with the Ferrari 166 MM debuting the style at the 1948 Turin Auto Show.

Michael Sayer, an aircraft engineer and the man behind the beautiful E-Type, built the aerodynamic aluminum Barchetta style body for the C-Type.

The earliest form of disc brakes can be traced back to Lanchester Motor Company, which patented a form of the technology in 1902. They were thin and made of soft brass metal. But they weren't as effective since they used cable technology. By the 40s, the technology had developed, and Dunlop had gained a lead in the automotive industry with their new design. During the winter months of 1951 and 1953, Dunlop worked with Jaguar to test the brakes, and the Jaguar C-Type became the car that pioneered the use of disc brakes on cars.

The brakes proved revolutionary, giving the Jaguar a durability advantage during the long endurance race at Le Mans. They were able to brake late and hard, resulting in faster lap times, the first time a car won with an average speed of 105.85 mph.

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The road-going XK120 came with a 3.4-liter straight-six engine making between 160hp and 180hp. Jaguar considered the motor sturdy enough for racing, and they tuned it to add 50 extra horsepower for a total output of 220. They added improved pistons and cylinder heads, triple twin-choke carburetors, high-lift camshafts, and a dual exhaust system.

Add the all-disc brakes, and you have an instant world-beating performer. It could sprint to 60mph in 8 seconds and achieve top speeds of 140mph on its way to winning two Le Mans trophies.

Race-bred cars don't have much going on in the interior. Take Ferrari's special project PC80/C, an extremely powerful car with nothing going in terms of comfort. Inside the Jaguar C-Type, there is little play, and it's about getting the business going fast.

A flat panel provides the necessary instrumentation, and the two-seater cabin is dominated by bare aluminum. Front side protection is minimal, coming from a tiny frameless windshield. The exterior is also minimalist and is devoid of door handles.

Besides its cooling problems at Le Mans in 1952, the Jaguar C-Type was a real success, and without it, Jaguar might have taken a different route. Many manufacturers focused on luxury cars and ultimately suffered the same fate as the defunct automakers like Daimler or Bristol. Luckily all worked out as history would have it, and the car probably saved Jaguar.

It led to the purposeful evolution of Jaguar's sporting heritage, paving the way for icons like the XJR-15, F-Type, XJ-S, XKSS, XJ220, and the timeless E-Type.

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Jaguar built only 53 copies of the C-Type between 1951 and 1953, and just 43 were sold to private owners, most of which were shipped to the US. Today, finding one is like finding a needle in a haystack. When freshly built, they ran you $6,500, which adjusted to inflation is just about $68,000.

But today, the car is extremely rare and costs a fortune to own. Hagerty auction house values the 1953 C-Types at more than $3 million, with the highest-selling car going for $21.7 million.

In 2022, you can get a brand-new copy of the 1953 Le Mans winner, thanks to the Jaguar Continuation program. The 2022 Type-C Continuation is more than a replica. It is as real as it gets to the original car and is built by the company to the exact specifications of the Le Mans champion.

Jaguar Classic, the company's in-house heritage division, has been busy building the D-Type, E-Type, and XKSS continuation cars. Jaguar will build only 16 examples, priced between $1.4 million and $2.7 million.

RELATED: This Classic Jaguar C-Type Continuation Is Just Simply Breathtaking

Besides making classy luxury sedans, Jaguar has also churned out some of the coolest sports cars of any manufacturer. From the latest F-Type to the classic E-Type, D-Type, and the XJR-15, the first production sports car to come with a full carbon fiber chassis.

It is subject to many replicas, including the official continuation car. Stunning looks, race-winning legacy, limited numbers, and unlimited prices are some reasons why the Jaguar C-Type is such a desirable car to own for any car collector.

Bryan is a content marketer who works as a staff writer for HotCars.com where he covers a variety of topics, from the first Motorwagen to the latest Electric vehicles. A writer by day and a programmer by night. When he is not writing about cars, catch him tinkering with his old motorcycle.