My Car: 1959 Jaguar XK150

While the words “Jaguar XK” might evoke memories of the somewhat catfish-mouthed sports car the British marque made between 2006 and 2014, it’s actually a name that has considerable motoring pedigree.

It was a Jaguar XK-120C that secured Jag their first 24 Hours of Le Mans win in 1951, with Peters Walker and Whitehead behind the wheel. From there the company took six more wins with the C-Type (1953), D-Type (1955-57) and XJR (1988,90), but the legacy all began with that XK.

The brand developed the car, with the XK120 evolving through to the XK140 and, between 1957 - 1961, the XK150 was produced.

With disc brakes, a 3.4L engine that could make 210bhp, and a new, streamlined design, it was a modernisation of the previous iterations - and the last XK car until the 2006 version.

This example, spotted at The Motorist in Leeds, UK, and owned by Glen and Lorraine, was built in 1959 - though you wouldn’t know from looking at it. Having had a nearly £100,000 restoration between 2013 and 2014, it’s been kept in immaculate condition since, and covered around 10,000 miles around Croatia, Italy and France.

One of the just 93 right-hand drive Open Two-Seaters (OTS) cars created by Jaguar, it wears its racing heritage proudly - roundels adorn both doors and the boot, while the Jaguar badge on that boot lid lists the years of each of the brand’s Le Mans wins at the time of production.

The interior demonstrates its age well, too - the dashboard filled with just five dials and a handful of buttons. It’s clear this car has been a labour of love rather than just another investment to sit in someone’s garage and, with the laundry list of parts that have been serviced, upgraded, restored or modified, it’s a dream to drive according to owner Glen.

“It drives really nice. They’ve done really good stuff to it to make it drive better - the standard one is a bit of a pig to be honest - they don’t drive brilliantly. This one is a nice little combo of usability [and looks]”.

As well you’d hope for, with a car of this calibre. It’s not something you drive by accident - you’re not buying one because you’re flipping through the “for sale” section and pick the first thing you see. Such is the driving enjoyment, Glen and Lorraine have already done a Welsh rally in their first six months of ownership and plan to continue the car’s frequent trips to Europe.

At a time when Jaguar is going through a considerable shift in its design philosophies, it’s refreshing to remember where they came from - painstakingly-built and gorgeously-designed cars for whom the drivers will have enjoyed the journey far more than the destination. Whether they achieve that with their rebrand in 2026 remains to be seen but, for those who want to enjoy the act of driving, it seems you can’t go far wrong with an XK150.