One to Buy: XK DK Perfection - 1955 Jaguar XK140 SE OTS Roadster
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With the XK120 having rewritten the rulebook in terms of what could be expected from a vaguely affordable sports car, Jaguar understandably opted for evolution rather than revolution when it came to a successor.
The XK140 that emerged at the London Motor Show in October 1954 arrived six years after the prototype XK120 had shocked the world with its gorgeous lines, impressive technical specification and 120mph top speed. More power, extra cockpit space and improved brakes / suspension were the order of the day as the XK140 looked to build on the XK120’s massive commercial success.
Like its predecessor, Jaguar offered the XK140 in a choice of three body styles: a pared down Open Two Seat Roadster, a Drop Head Coupe with a proper folding canvas roof and a Fixed Head Coupe. All three could be uprated with a host of options to include the Special Equipment package and even a C-type head.
Currently available at the DK Engineering showroom in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, is an exceptional XK140 ordered new with the enormously desirable OTS Roadster body and Special Equipment pack.
Dispatched from Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory in June 1955 and destined for the firm’s Belfast distributor in Northern Ireland, chassis 800039 was configured in British Racing Green with Suede Green leather upholstery. It remained in the possession of the first owner, RJ McKenney Ltd., until 1964, at which point it departed for Scotland.
In 2018, the car was purchased by DK Engineering’s David Cottingham who had the family business restore it to the most exacting standard. During the course of this work, chassis 800039 was uprated with a D-type cylinder head and camshafts, H8 carburettors, a polished crankshaft and connecting rods, a five-speed gearbox, limited slip differential and alloy rimmed wire wheels. The result is a phenomenally well sorted and very fast XK140 of a quality rarely seen.
