Background
"The 3.4-litre Jaguar engine is one of the marvels of the age. In racing tune, it achieves tremendous speeds, and in normal form it powers a range of cars from six-seater luxury models to the sports XK types. Now, a ‘hotter’ version of this basic engine has been made available, and it is used in the ultra-high speed XK 150S two-seaters." – John Bolster, Autosport.
Introduced in 1957, the '150' was the ultimate expression of Jaguar's XK series.
Revisions to the bodywork retained the traditional XK look but the revised lines made room for a wider cowl and windshield and fed into thinner doors that much improved comfort.
Jaguar adopted the disc brakes which had so dramatically demonstrated their effectiveness in the C-types at Le Mans, improving not only braking performance but also the XK 150's marketing.
In standard form, it retained the 190bhp of its predecessor. But for those requiring a little more power, 'Special Equipment' and 'S' versions came with 210 and 250bhp respectively, the latter delivering an astonishing 0-60mph time of 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 136mph.
