Cars of Coolhaven

Amidst the ‘old London photos’ were these rather dark pictures of a absolute stunner of a car, the lustrously curved classic Jaguar XK140 roadster. Back then, I could not Photoshop them back alive. Fortunately I have learned a thing or two and the pictures aren’t actually half bad. Feast your eyes out on this beauty!

This car has the erotic curvature of the Jags of that era, a brilliance in design that they have quite seriously last since then… Granted, every now and then they design a nice car, but it is never this daring voluptuous sort of design.

Facts stolen from Wikipedia:

Upgrades of the XK140 over its predecessor, the XK120, included better brakes, rack and pinion steering, and modern tube type shock absorbers instead of the older lever arm design. The name referred to its alleged 140 mph (225 km/h) top speed. The XK140 continued to feature the famous Jaguar XK engine with the SE mods from the XK120 as standard, now delivering 190 bhp (142 kW) at 5750 rpm.
With the introduction of the XK140 in late 1954 (all sold as 1955 models), the primary visual change was the more substantial front and rear bumpers, with large overriders. Another new feature was the provision of modern flashing direction indicators, operated by a separate switch on the dash. The twin amber lights positioned above the front bumper helped to distinguish the XK140 – until XK120 owners started installing the same equipment. The front grill was the same size as the grill on the XK120, but was now a one piece cast unit with fewer, thicker vertical slats. Above the grill was the Jaguar mascot, and a chrome strip which extended back over the bonnet. This strip continued down the centre of the boot (trunk) lid, where it contained a red shield with the words ‘Winner Le Mans 1951-3′ inscribed in gold.

The interior was also more comfortable for taller occupants with the addition of 3 inches (76 mm) in length. This was achieved by moving the engine forward which allowed the firewall and dash location to be relocated as well. The new arrangement left no room for the XK120 battery compartment, and the single battery was now repositioned low down inside the wing on the inlet side, making it almost impossible to replace.