XK140

The Jaguar XK 140 was a two-seater sports car launched by Jaguar in 1954 as the successor to the Jaguar XK 120. The fast, elegant Jaguar XK roadster is among the established classic elite and generally causes few problems. Between the XK 120 with some pre-war characteristics and the visually smoothed XK 150, the XK 140 offers the best compromise.

In technical terms, the XK 140 was based on its predecessor. Its chassis and running gear were taken over largely unchanged. The main modifications concerned the engine. Jaguar now offered a sports version, the so-called S-version, whose engine took over the cylinder head of the Jaguar C-Type. The basic version of the 3442 cc inline six-cylinder engine produced 190 bhp, while the S version produced 210 bhp. The more powerful version was only available in conjunction with the “Special Equipment” option, which could, however, also be ordered with the simpler engine. The engine drove the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox (with overdrive if desired) with a mid-range gearshift. The top speed was a good 200 km/h. For American customers, a three-speed automatic transmission from Borg-Warner was also available in the Fixed Head Coupé and the Drophead Coupé. The bodies were carried over from the predecessor with only a few changes.

Externally, the design of the XK 120 was largely carried over, with hip sweep and two-piece windshield. The XK 140 received a full-length bumper with horns at the front, bumpers with bumper horns at the rear and turn signal lamps above the front bumper. The Jaguar emblem moved from the hood to the revised radiator grille, which – instead of 13 as before – now had only seven struts and was now created using a casting process. As a result of the engine sitting 7.5 cm further forward and the batteries no longer being positioned behind the seats, the interior was enlarged so that the Coupé and Cabriolet now had two emergency seats and the Roadster more storage space.