Lot 341: 1956 Jaguar XK140MC Fixed-Head Coupe

The Jaguar XK120 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 3,442cc. 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 over 120mph. The first XK120s arrived in the United States in August 1949, West Coast deliveries beginning the following month. Priced at $3,945, 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 12,000 XK120s 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 given fewer bars, more widely spaced, and full-width bumpers. Flashing directional signals were located in the front fenders, just above the bumper.

Moving the engine forward about three inches allowed a roomier cockpit, but required relocating the battery compartment into the front fender. The car was re-designated XK140, and two variants were added, the XK140M, which included a crankshaft dampener, wire wheels, dual exhaust, twin fog lamps and windshield washers, and the XK140MC, which added the big-valve cylinder head from the C-Type Jag, raising horsepower to 210. 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 XK120s was continued as an option, and during 1956 an automatic transmission, the first in a Jaguar sports car, became available on coupes and dropheads.

In May 1957, the XK140 was succeeded by the wider and recontoured XK150. International economics, however, had been kind to the Jaguar. The USA delivered price of a 1956 XK140 was less than that of the original XK120, while the top-line Lincoln had risen by $800. While fewer than 4,000 Jaguars of all types were sold in the United States that year, each one represented exceptional value.

This XK140MC Fixed-Head Coupe was restored in the 1990s, and has seen little use since. It is fitted with the C-Type head and overdrive, and the engine was overhauled at time of restoration and a new wiring harness installed. All chrome was replated, new leather installed and interior wood refinished. The wood is beautiful.

In the same ownership for 30 years, this Jaguar has been lovingly cared for and meticulously maintained. It will serve a new owner as faithfully as the last.