Jaguar XK 140

jaguar
Jaguar XK 140
XK 140
Production period:	1954-1957
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupé , roadster
Engines:	Petrol engine : 3.4 liters (140–154 kW)
Length:	4470 mm
Width:	1638 mm
Height:	1333-1397 mm
Wheelbase :	2591 mm
Empty weight :	1215-1345 kg
Previous model	Jaguar XK 120
successor	Jaguar XK 150

Jaguar XK 140 DHC from 1955

Jaguar XK140 from 1955

Emblem Jaguar XK140

The Jaguar XK 140 was a two-seater sports car that Jaguar launched in 1954 as the successor to the Jaguar XK 120 .

Development history

From a technical point of view, the XK 140 was based on its predecessor. Its chassis and running gear were largely taken over unchanged. The main modifications concerned the engine. Jaguar now offered a sports version, the so-called S version, whose engine took over the cylinder head of the Jaguar C-Type . The basic version of the 3442 cm³ six-cylinder in-line engine developed 190 bhp, the S version, however, 210 bhp. The more powerful version was only available in conjunction with the additional equipment "Special Equipment", which could also be ordered with the simpler engine. This powered the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox (with overdrive on request ) with center shift. The top speed was a good 200 km / h. For American customers there was also a three-speed automatic transmission from Borg-Warner in the Fixed Head Coupé and the Drophead Coupé. The bodies were carried over from the predecessor with only a few changes.

Externally, the design of the XK 120 with hip swing and two-part windshield was largely adopted. The XK 140 received a continuous bumper with horns at the front, bumpers with bumper horns at the rear and indicators above the front bumper. The Jaguar emblem moved from the bonnet to the redesigned radiator grille, which - instead of the previous 13 - had only seven struts and was now made using the casting process. Because the engine was 7.5 cm further forward and the batteries were no longer positioned behind the seats, the interior was enlarged so that the Coupé and Cabriolet now had two jump seats and the Roadster had more storage space.

The XK 140 was still offered in three body versions:

• as XK 140 OTS ( O pen T wo S eater),
• as XK 140 DHC ( D rop H ead C oupé) and
• as XK 140 FHC ( F ixed H ead C oupé).

Within three years, a total of 3347 Roadsters OTS, 2797 Coupés FHC and 2740 Cabriolets DHC were produced.

• Jaguar XK 140 FHC
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Special bodies

The Jaguar XK 140 served some independent bodyworks as the basis for their own designs:

• In 1957, at the request of an Italian Jaguar dealer , the Zagato bodywork factory produced a two-seater coupé with a pontoon body and extensively glazed roof structure. The vehicle remained a one-off; However, in 1958 two similarly designed Zagato coupes were created based on the Jaguar XK 150 .

• In 1955, the French designer Raymond Loewy designed a two-seater notchback coupé based on the XK 140, the body of which had some futuristic elements. The front of the vehicle was pointed, the headlights were set back and sat in rounded tunnels. There was a noticeable scoop on the hood. The rear window was designed as a panoramic window and was separated from the roof part by a wide, chrome-plated roll bar. The car had no bumpers either at the rear or at the front. The vehicle was built in Italy at Carrozzeria Boano . It remained a one-off.

swell

• Dean Bachelor, Chris Poole, Graham Robson: The Big Book of Sports Cars - The Fastest, Most Expensive and Most Beautiful Cars in the World . Karl Müller, Erlangen 1990 (without ISBN).
• Halwart Schrader: Jaguar type compass - passenger cars since 1931 . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02106-4 .
• Heiner Stertkamp: Jaguar - The complete chronicle from 1922 to today . 2nd Edition. Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-337-6 .
• In the slipstream of the Le Mans legend . In: British Classic Cars . (Continued British Classics). No. 2 , February 2010, ISSN  2191-1754 , p. 14th ff .
• Lyons' King: Presentation and development history of the XK 140 . In: Classic & Sports Car . No. 5 , 2007, p. 108 ff .
• Between D-Type and E-Type: Jaguar XK-SS . In: Oldtimer Market . No. 8 , August 2006, ISSN  0939-9704 , p. 8th ff .

Web links

Commons : Jaguar XK 140  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dean Bachelor, Chris Poole, Graham Robson: The Great Book of Sports Cars - The fastest, most expensive and most beautiful cars in the world . Karl Müller, Erlangen 1990, p. 220 .
2. ↑ In the slipstream of the Le Mans legend . In: British Classic Cars . No. 2 , February 2010, ISSN  2191-1754 , p. 22 .
3. ↑ 1954 Jaguar XK140 Zagato Coupé. In: www.supercars.net. Retrieved April 18, 2012 . 
4. ↑ 1955 Jaguar XK140, Loewy Custom. (No longer available online.) In: Loewy Design. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012 ; accessed on April 18, 2012 (English). 
5. ↑ Lyons' King: Presentation and development history of the XK 140 . In: Classic & Sports Car . No. 5 , 2007, p. 110 (with illustration) .