Classic showcase, 1955 Jaguar XK140 DHC

The 1955 XK140 DHC (Drop Head Coupe) was manufactured the way a luxury sport coupe is supposed to be, with style, performance, and sophistication. The XK140 was the successor to the popular XK120 and was produced from 1954 – 1957. It was sold as a two seat sports car in three versions; 2-seat roadster, 2-seat convertible, and the 2-seat coupe. It was powered by a 3.4 liter DOHC Straight-6 with 190 or 210 horsepower versions. The 210 horsepower version featured the C-Type cylinder heads carried over from the XK120.

Road & Track tested the XK140 in June of 1955 with an average top speed of 120.3 mph and a best zero to 60 mph of 8.4 seconds. They also tested the car from zero to 100 mph and it recorded a time of 26.5 seconds. The performance of this car was on par or better for the other sports cars of the day, for instance, the 1955 Chevy Corvette was clocked at zero to 60 mph in 8.6 seconds and a top speed of roughly 120 mph. And that was from a 231 cu. in American V8. Consequently the 1956 Porsche 356A was only capable of a zero to 60 mph in 14.3 seconds.

Jaguar took great pride in producing a sports car with such distinctive styling, elegant luxury, and world-class performance in one sleek package. The rich interior was so luxurious with its fine leather and elegant wood grain trim. The gauges and steering wheel were as stylish as a fine Swiss watch and had an immaculate look and feel like no other. This car also offered 3 more inches of legroom thanks to an engine and firewall that was moved forward.

The 1955 XK140 was so simple and clean, solidifying the old saying that sometimes less is more. For this car to still hold its place among sports car enthusiast today shows that Jaguar was ahead of the times. This was an era when Jaguar built cars that would stand the test of time and styles. With just under 2800 of these cars produced, the 1955 Jaguar XK140 is somewhat rare and quite desirable among collectors. Hagerty reports the average value of this car listed at $77,720 for the DHC and $91,690 for the MC (US version) of the 210 horsepower DHC. Both of these models were trending upward.

Related Classic Jaguar articles:

• 1938 Jaguar SS
• 1954 Jaguar MK VII
• 1955 Jaguar XKSS