MODIFIED
Even the oldest Jaguar sports cars can benefit from modern upgrades, as this fuel-injected, 4.2-litre XK150 proves.
NOW THAT the engine has warmed up, you have to push it a little more, just to hear the noise,” comments Jack Pearson of Classic & Sportscar Centre near Malton in North Yorkshire. It’s the induction roar from a bank of six Jenvey 45mm throttle bodies to which Jack is referring and he’s right: as I head off behind the wheel of this modernised XK 150 and at the first opportunity, leave the five-speed gearbox in second and allow the engine revs to continue climbing at a steady pace.
The exhaust system remains quiet and refined, but the induction system eventually erupts into an enthralling gargle that opens your senses to the very modern acceleration provided by what is after all a 1958 car.
Those six throttle bodies breathe through a bespoke plenum chamber that’s visible inside the engine bay, although part of it is hidden inside the modified offside inner wing so engaging though it may be, the induction noise is actually not as ferocious as you’d experience from a bank of Webers running mesh filters.
Instead, it’s music to my ears, but at the same time, I need to be aware of the fact that the entertainment value of driving this XK 150 isn’t solely about the induction tunes. As I accelerate hard in second gear, I eventually opt to calmly change up to third gear and notice I’ve already reached 60mph with a couple more gears still in reserve from the all-synchromesh Rover LT77 five-speed gearbox, as used in the 1980s Range Rover, Triumph TR7 and Rover SD1 – ironically, a unit said to have been derived from a Jaguar design originally.
This box has a standard H-pattern for first to fourth gears, with fifth gear offset to the right and reverse requiring a knock of the gearlever over to the left to open the safety lock, before selecting what feels like an elongated first. It’s so straightforward to operate and select gears, although at times, I get it wrong when conducting a three-point turn, selecting first instead of reverse, but there’s thankfully less danger of accidentally doing the opposite, which could be more of a disaster–imagine setting off in queuing traffic in first gear, only to hurtle backwards into the car behind.
On the move, changing down gears from fourth to third in anticipation of a corner, or from third to second for a turning, is precise and I soon take for granted just how slick the gear selections are with no hint of being notchy or unpredictable. I cautiously avoid changing down from second to first when moving slowly, incorrectly assuming the synchrom
