Jaguar XK 150 3,4 S Roadster 1958 Very fine restoration A reliable car with good performance Rare 3.4-litre ‘S’ version
French registration papers Chassis no. S831188DN
The final model in Jaguar’s XK series, the XK 150 was launched in May 1957, succeeding the XK 120 from 1948 and the XK 140 from 1954. Building on its established international reputation, Jaguar continued to develop the XK series, which had originally been introduced with a 3.4-litre in-line six. Launched first in fixed head coupé (FHC) and drophead coupé (DHC) or convertible form, the open twoseater (OTS) or roadster version was added in 1958. The main change to its appearance was the adoption of a one-piece curved windscreen. It had more modern styling, influenced by the design of the contemporary Jaguar Mark 1 and Mark 2 saloons. Technically speaking, the 150 kept the same chassis design with torsion bars at the front and a live rear axle with leaf springs. It carried over the rack-and-pinion steering introduced on the XK 140 but was fitted for the first time with disc brakes as standard. The standard engine was the 3.4-litre unit developing 190bhp, mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, with overdrive or a three-speed Borg Warner automatic transmission as options. The following year, an ‘S’ version of the 3.4-litre engine was introduced with three SU HD8 carburettors, which enabled it to develop 250bhp. At the end of 1959, Jaguar presented an entirely new 3.8-litre engine producing 220bhp or 265bhp in ‘S’ specification. Production of the roadster came to an end in December 1960, followed by that of the fixed head coupé in February 1961 and the drophead coupé in July that year. Altogether, 9382 units of the XK 150 were built, the majority exported to the United States. The XK 150 was then replaced by the E-Type.
The car we are presenting is an XK 150 3.4 S roadster which came off the production line on 25 August 1958. It was imported from the United States in 2008 by