When the XK140 made its bow at the 1954 London Motor Show, Jaguar faced the significant challenge of refining the design of the 1948 XK120 without destroying its raison d’etre. Their achievement was enhancing the appeal of the original model to create a family of sports cars with ‘smoothness, silence, tractability and road adhesion.’
By 1954, the USA took almost half of Jaguar’s output, and that market’s demands shaped many of the XK140’s improvements, including larger bumpers with overriders and flashing indicators. It could be further distinguished from the XK120 by its larger headlamps, modified grille with thicker vertical bars and rear reflectors. The famous 3442cc DOHC engines were to XK120 SE tune; higher-lift camshafts, alerted porting, a lightened flywheel, uprated valve springs, high-compression
