1956 Jaguar XK140 Roadster

You can find us on Facebook and Twitter for News and Instant Stock Alerts. Please visit www. godinbanks. com for 25 photos and a large description of each car.

The Jaguar XK 120 roadster created a sensation at the 1948 London Motor Show. Low and lithe. with a curvaceous envelope body. it had a newly-designed dual overhead cam six of 3. 42cc. The model took its name from a May 1949 speed run by a production roadster on Belgium's Jabbeke Highway. where it was clocked at about 120mph. The first XK120s arrived in the United States in August 1949. West Coast deliveries beginning the following month.

Priced at $3. 45. it cost as much as a Lincoln Cosmopolitan and almost twice the sticker on an MG TC. But there was nothing else like it on the market. Of the 12. 00 XK 120s built over the model's lifetime. most were left-hand drive. nearly all of them destined for North America. A handsome fixed-head coupe was added to the line in 1951. and a convertible. "drophead coupe" in the British parlance. with a more substantial top and roll-up side windows in 1953.

For 1955. the chassis was redesigned. with larger torsion bars. better brakes and rack-and-pinion steering. The engine was given higher-lift camshafts. which had the effect of raising horsepower to 190. There were also subtle appearance changes. the grille with fewer. more widely spaced bars. and full-width bumpers front and rear. Flashing directional signals were located in the front wings. just above the bumper.

Moving the engine three inches forward allowed a roomier cockpit. but required relocating the battery compartment into the front fender. The car was re-designated XK 140.

The three body styles continued in production through mid-1957. each available in any of the three variants. The Laycock de Normanville electric overdrive available on some XK 120s was continued as an option. and during 1956 an automatic transmission.

One of 3. 82 XK140 Roadsters built to left-hand drive specification. chassis A812238 dates from 1956. It was repatriated and UK road registered as `ESJ 423' on August 29th 1997. Professionally converted to right-hand drive and rewired by marque specialist The Carriage Company the following year. the two-seater has been with the previous owner since August 1999. Understood to have covered some 3. 00 miles over the intervening fourteen years. sundry invoices on file show that the same period has seen the Jaguar benefit from attention to its water pump. coil. air cleaner assembly. spare wheel tray. heater. rev counter / speedometer / dual gauge and cam cover gaskets plus the fitment of reconditioned twin SU carburettors. Pleasingly displaying the same numbers to its body plaque and engine cylinder head that appear on its bulkhead-mounted chassis plate. the XK140 Roadster presents as an older partial restoration. Finished in White with Tan leather upholstery and chrome wire wheels. `ESJ 423' is offered for sale with a tool kit. assorted The Carriage Company paperwork. numerous S. N. G. Barratt invoices and fourteen MOT certificates the latest of which was issued without advisories and expires on October 24th 2013.

This is a lovely car in a great useable condition. they only made 79 genuine RHD XK140 Roadsters. they are the rarest of the XK's so this is a very rare opportunity at a very reasonable price.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

Want to buy this car?