The owner of this 1960 Jaguar XK150 Fixed-Head Coupe describes its condition as pristine. When you examine the supplied photos, it is hard to disagree with that assessment. Every aspect of the car presents superbly and is in keeping with a vehicle that has worked its way through a meticulous frame-off restoration. With the work now complete, he has decided that the time is right for it to head to a new home and a buyer who will appreciate its overall condition and beauty. The Jaguar is located in San Diego, California, and is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set the sale price at $84,900. I have to say a huge thank you to Barn Finder rex m for referring this beautiful classic to us.
Introduced in 1957, the XK150 was the successor to the XK140 and remained in production until 1961. The Fixed-Head Coupe was the first version that Jaguar released, although the Drophead Coupe followed mere weeks later. In 1958, the company launched the OTS version, and all three derivatives remained in production until 1961. Our feature Fixed-Head Coupe rolled off the line in 1960, and the owner has recently completed a frame-off restoration. It appears that no expense was spared in his quest for perfection. He refers to the paint shade as Ivory, but I can’t find that listed on any Jaguar color chart from the era. The closest that I could find is Old English White, but that doesn’t seem to be a visual match. Anyway, the paint appears to be perfect. It shines beautifully, without so much as a hint of a chip of scratch. He has applied the paint cover panels that are flawless, while the photos reveal no traces of rust or corrosion. The chrome shines as impressively as the paint, while the iconic wire wheels are in as-new condition. With spotlessly clean glass, it’s easy to see why the owner describes this classic as pristine.
The 1960 model year saw Jaguar introduce its first performance upgrade to the range, and the buyer is set to benefit from this. While the 3.4-liter DOHC six-cylinder engine remained the standard offering, buyers could tick the box on the order form to upgrade to a 3.8-liter unit. This motor brought a useful power boost, with the output climbing from 190hp to 220hp. The original owner chose the larger engine, along with the optional and highly desirable overdrive transmission. Performance figures were nothing to sneeze at. If the owner launched the XK150 down the ¼ mile, the journey would be over in 15.8 seconds. Given a long enough piece of road, the Jag could eventually nudge 129mph. The owner holds a Jaguar Heritage Certificate, which verifies that this is a numbers-matching classic. Not only is it 1-of-1,112 examples of the XK150 built during the 1960 model year, but the documentation confirms that it is one of the last 200 cars built. The engine bay presents as spotlessly as you might expect in a case like this. Disappointingly, the seller supplies no information on how well the car runs or drives. However, given its overall condition and his emphasis on its pristine state, you would rightfully expect it to drive as well as it did the day it rolled out of the showroom.
The interior shots aren’t the greatest, but they are good enough to tell a positive story. As with the rest of the car, the Jag’s interior is in as-new condition. It looks stunning upholstered in rich red leather. The dash has been trimmed to match, while the coordinated carpet is spotless. There is no wear visible anywhere, and the overall impression is that this classic has done little work since the owner downed his tools at the end of the restoration process. It looks luxurious and inviting, and you would have to think that even the most mundane journey would feel like a special occasion from inside this XK150.
Achieving motoring perfection isn’t easy, and I’m not sure that it’s even possible. However, the owner of this 1960 Jaguar XK150 Fixed-Head Coupe has had a fair shot at achieving it. There is no aspect of the car’s presentation or condition that lets the side down, and it would suit an enthusiast seeking a car in as-new condition. The larger engine makes it the most desirable variant that the company offered in that model year, while the documentation seems to verify that it is all he claims to be. With all of those factors in mind, it makes the price look very competitive. But is it competitive enough to tempt one of our readers? I would like to think so.
Gorgeous car…but give me the roadster version any day .
Coupe fan myself but either way they are art on wheels. Got time in a ’53 120 roadster, mostly with the top down, and the engine sound alone puts good bumps on you.
This is interesting. There is a copy in silver over red advertised in the Rochester NY area with the highest end awards (Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, Jaguar Documentation) for $200,000.
This is very nice, but not perfect. Some incorrect items and missing. Believe it or not, based on exterior condition the engine compartment needs some cleaning polishing if I can see from the low res pics. Any serious buyer will want to see pictures of spare tire well, tool roll (about $2,000 if missing) and Heritage certificate. Probably priced accurately.
Correction… In most cases “good bumps” on you is not a great thing so if you think “goose bumps” instead you will get my above comment in the proper text.
There is no way the owner is not upside down with the cost of restoration. The price is really good considering the condition of the car. I had an XK150S Roadster years ago. Paid $1,500 for it. Sold it for $1,500.
The interior of these rivals the Jensen Interceptor for being complex with a huge number of pieces. It seems that almost all of them are odd shaped and difficult to place properly. When finished like this one is they are amazing and feel extremely rich as they should but the interiors are very costly to get right. I helped on the restoration of two of these and a 140 coupe which was much simpler.
I got to ride in all three a few times and I liked the XK-150’s the best
I’ve worked on several XK12-140-150 cars, but this is the first one I remember seeing with the heater core and blower motor up on top of the cowl, left hand side. Was this a running change? The 150 I restored had the heater in a different location.
I’m lost…… I believed the 150 referred to top speed. I’m certain the 140 was sold based on that statistic and this with the extra power and overdrive should be more capable than its predecessor.
If you are lost, Dave, I will try to get you on track. XK-120 did indeed stand for the car’s assumed top speed in 1948…except that Jaguar presumed incorrectly. When taken to Belgium for high speed testing, they found that the car did 132 mph! To be fair, though, the first XK-120s were aluminium-bodied. Through the XK-140 and 150s the engine gained some power with twin exhausts, better cylinder heads, etc…but weight also went up. By the time of the 3.8 XK-150 S (basically the same engine that would power the early E Types), top speed was 138-39 mph.
This era has always turned heads White and red is nice color combination and of course its a Kalifornia Jag.
84K$ wonder if that fair for the market. I’d pay it if I had it aahahahaa these (XK models had so much to offer)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_XK120
but the E kinda caught the world’s eye.
I’m an i6 fan and here are some of the best. Nice to see this one (no expert here) done up so well. Stuff to dream on (in my world). I love the Italian ’50s/60s but these sure have it too~
8^ )
(ex-spirt) an x is a has been, a spirt is H2O under pressure
In 1960, once the 3.8 litre motor made its appearance part-way through the production year, the 3.8 S with triple carbs became the most powerful option. During that year you could also get the 3.4, 3.4S and the 3.8.
I once owned an early ’57 K-150 Special Equipment with overdrive. It had the annoying clockwork directionals (signals) that would cancel themselves after five seconds or so. Jaguar soon got rid of them, but apart from that it was a smooth, reliable and pleasant car to drive, with none of the Lucas or oil leak horror stories that some naysayers seem to enjoy perpetuating. In 1980-82 when I owned the car, it seemed a bit “old fashioned” compared to the E Type I had owned previously. Nowadays XK-150s are more appreciated…but instead of buying another XK Jag in 2017, I couldn’t resist buying another E Type…
Fantastic car I’ve owned a lot of jags but never a xk 150 believe me if i had the money i would be on the plane today! Love the pictures of the underside of the car so clean great job!
In the late Seventies a classmate of mine had a a mid fifties 120. It was a bear to drive and as beautiful as it was I couldn’t understand the logic of owning it. At the time I was driving my girlfriends ,73 or so XJ 6. Quietest car I ever drove- till it blew the head gasket on the 405 south of LA. No more Jags. I’m just too simple a guy to own these :)