Jaguar XK140 SE FHC

CATALOGUE AMENDMENT: Bills with this car only amount to just over £30,000. We are assusred that over £120,000 has been spent but at the moment there are insufficient bills to warrant this. More bills may arrive on sale day.

Launched at the 1954 London Motor Show as the successor to the sensational XK120 which had appeared in 1948, the XK140 was broadly similar to the outgoing model but considerably more refined with a host of mechanical improvements.

Under the bonnet the XK140 retained Jaguar's well-proven 3.4-litre twin-cam six, which now produced 190bhp in standard trim thanks to higher-lift camshafts and revised porting – up 30bhp from the standard XK120 and now capable of 140mph (hence the name). A close-ratio gearbox enabled better use to be made of the increased performance, as did stiffer torsion bars on the front suspension and new telescopic shock absorbers to the rear. Steering was also improved with the adoption of the rack-and-pinion set up from the Le Mans-winning C-Type racer.

The superbly trimmed cabin was also notably roomier as the engine and bulkhead were now three inches further forward, a modification which also improved weight distribution and handling. External changes were limited to a wider radiator grille, rear lights incorporating flashing indicators, and larger bumpers front and rear. Three body styles were offered, fixed-head, roadster and drop-head. A total of 8,956 XK140s were made before it was replaced by the larger XK150 in 1957, of which 1,966 were left-hand drive fixed-head coupes.

As its accompanying Heritage Certificate confirms, this particular car was dispatched in December 1956 to Delecroix of Paris. The S prefix to the chassis number and S suffix to the engine number would indicate that it is a Special Equipment model with a C-Type engine. Originally left-hand drive, not much is known of its early history but it came back to the UK at some point and has been in the hands of the current owner (now deceased) for over 20 years. During this time the car was subject to a total nut-and-bolt rebuild which resulted in the magnificent specimen you see today.

Over £120,000 has been spent to bring the car to this condition, the whole process recorded on photographs in the history file. The work is too detailed to list in full but highlights include: full chassis and body restoration by XK Engineering; bare metal repaint by CMC; unleaded engine rebuild by VSE; 5-speed Getrag gearbox conversion and rack-and-pinion power steering by Guy Broad; servo-assisted Coopercraft brake upgrade; uprated cooling system with specialist header tank and Kenlowe fan; alternator charging; uprated Xenon headlights; competition 6-inch wire wheels; tubular manifolds and stainless steel exhausts; factory bucket seats; rebuilt original SU sandcast carbs.

The car has only covered around 400 miles since the restoration was completed late last year and is in outstanding condition throughout. It is only due to the sad demise of the owner that it has come to the market at all. It is being offered here today at a fraction of the costs lavished on it to date. An absolutely stunning car that has been sensibly and discreetly upgraded for modern road conditions.