Lot 26: Jaguar XK 150 COUPE

Introduced as the successor to the XK 140 in 1957, the 150 featured more modern styling with, for the first time, a one-piece windscreen, while the wing lines dropped less dramatically over the doors and the widened bonnet opened down to the wings.� Inside, the dash was replaced with a new leather trimmed item and the cabin was widened by the fitment of thinner doors giving more interior space.� Three body styles were offered, a fixed-head-coup�, open-top-sports roadster and a drop-head-coup�.� Initially offered with 3.4-litre engines giving 195bhp in standard form or 210bhp in SE guise, and in 1958 250bhp in 'S' form, later that year a 3.8-litre engine was introduced with 220bhp as standard and 265bhp from the 'S' designated models.� Four-wheel disc brakes were offered for the first time, although theoretically it was still possible to order a car with drum brakes all round.To many one of the more outstanding of post-war British sports cars, this 1959 example, finished in Indigo Blue with red hide and carpeting, was modified to the personal specification of John Appleton.� (Appleton drove a variety of cars at Brooklands before the war, from a Bugatti to the Riley-engined Appleton Special that still holds an unbeaten Class G lap record on the Brooklands Mountain Circuit, and then post-war obtained class wins at Shelsey Walsh.)� Used for continental trips in connection with his business, the car was extensively modified using parts from an earlier XK that Appleton had built, allowing the car to cruise at a reputed 130mph plus on the Autobahn.�Modifications included the fitting of a stronger 3.8-litre Mk X bottom end with an E-Type sump and a Weslake gas-flowed big-valve cylinder head, uprated carburettors, brakes, clutch, lightened E-Type flywheel and Koni suspension.� A 4-speed gearbox with overdrive was fitted giving a 1:1 ratio in top gear and 0.778:1 in overdrive, with 6000rpm in top, equating to 128.6mph and a theoretical 165mph in overdrive.� Jaguar World reviewed the car in 1994 in an article entitled 'Altered Ego', stating that the car when used on the Autobahns would regularly cruise at 130mph.� Subject to extensive restoration in 2002, the 'Appleton' modifications were retained and more recently Cooper Craft have performed a thorough overhaul of the brakes, and aluminium Dunlop D-Type style wheels and new tyres have been fitted.In conclusion, this is a thoughtfully modified XK with performance that makes it thoroughly useable, built by a true British motor sport legend.� Supplied with the car are the V5C document, a recently renewed MOT certificate and a wealth of information on Appleton, the car and the modifications carried out