Dispatched from Browns Lanein 1957to Jaguar Cars New York, returning 60 years laterA left-hand drive Special Equipmentwith matching numbers as confirmed by JaguarTotal, ground-uprestoration in the UKincluding a complete engine rebuildSuperbly finished in Ice Blue Metallic over Harbour Greyleather and Charcoal carpetsThe engine bay is a work of art. Chrome wire wheels and chrome luggage rackThe owner's filecontainsa period XK140 spares catalogue, current UK V5c, old MOT certificates, copies from the Jaguar archives and detailed restoration invoicesJaguar Cars launched the XK140 at the London Motor Show in October 1954 with a raft of improvements over its predecessor, the landmarkXK 120. The styling was enhanced bya revised grille and larger bumpers along with new rear lights, which now incorporated the indicators. The handling was improved by rack and pinion steering and telescopic dampers and the interior space was enlarged to allow the addition of occasional rear seats.The power unit remained Jaguar's well-tried, 3.4-litre, twin-cam six, which now produced 190bhp in standard trim thanks to higher-lift camshafts and revised porting. To ensure reliability, steel bearing caps replaced the previous cast-iron type. A close-ratio gearbox enabled better use to be made of the increased performance whilst a Laycock de Normanville overdrive became an option for the first time. Special Equipment (SE) XK140s came with wire wheels and Lucas fog lamps and could be ordered with an engine developing 210bhp courtesy of the 'C'-type cylinder head.Dispatched from Browns Lanein January 1957, this left-hand-drive XK140 Roadster equipped toSE specification wasdelivered new to Jaguar Cars New York. Some 60 years later, the XK made the return journeyand upon arrival inthe UK, the decision was made to set about a complete, ground-up, restoration. Pleasingly, its original engine remained in placeand this wassent to a Jaguar specialist to be stripped, inspected and fully rebuilt, and a detailed invoice within the history folder shows a cost including ancillaries of over 16,000. In the meantime, the bodywork was taken back to bare metal and completely refinished in a beautiful shade of light metallic blue. All mechanical components were either restored or replaced and the full rolling chassis prepared to be reunited with the rebuilt engine. The interior was beautifully re-trimmed in grey leather andnew carpets fitted.This sparkling XK now presents in showroom condition and is described as running and driving very well as you mightexpect. It's accompanied bythe owner's file which containsa period XK140 spares catalogue, current V5c, old MOT Certificates, copies from the Jaguar archives and detailed restoration invoices.Offered ata very sensible guide (the cost of restoration alone exceeds the lower estimate) this is an opportunity to own a very stylish, sought after and collectable Jaguar from a point in time when the world was very different. All that is left to do is to brim the tank, fill the picnic basket and set off on a beautiful sunny afternoon.