Modified XK140’s

Another Modernisation of a Jaguar Classic

David Beckham presented his son Brooklyn and daughter-in-law Nicola Peltz with a $500,000 (£383,502) classic Jaguar after they got married in Palm Beach, Florida earlier this month (April). David Beckham, 46, is an investor of restoration company Lunaz which electrified and re-engineered the 1954 Jaguar XK140, having taken a 10 percent stake in the company back in June 2021. He was pictured taking the vehicle out for a spin with his wife Victoria, 47, on Sunday morning before handing it over to the newlyweds., who mimicked Meghan and Harry’s reception arrival by driving off in the Jaguar to a lavish brunch. The electric XK140 was the end product of thousands of hours of work from the company’s 120 strong team of craftspeople, designers and Electric Vehicle (EV) technicians. It was built entirely in-house at the Lunaz factory in Silverstone, England. Their goal is to make the world’s finest electric converted classic cars by using state of the art technology and manufacturing techniques to maximise range, performance, usability and make classics a little more future-proof. They source existing cars including those that are no longer functional and then fully restore them to create beautiful, clean and usable electric classic cars. Electrification has an added side effect – more legroom. This means people taller than six feet can now comfortably get in an XK120, 140 or 150 coupé and not worry about space. Lunaz Design’s mission is to make classic cars work for future generations. Only time will tell if they will succeed in keeping automotive legends on the road for a fair while yet. .

Information for this story from the Daily Mail Australia and Classic Marque September 2020.

Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz driving in their new A$500k electric XK140 gifted to them by David and Victoria Beckham

The car above is officially called a Jaguar XK European; a fully restored and ‘tastefully’ upgraded British classic built by Thornley Kelham, with the aid of the designer of the McLaren P1 Paul Howse. Based in Britain’s beautiful Cotswolds, the firm takes a donor XK and turns it into a high-performance lightweight that stays true to Jaguar’s ethos while adding a host of modern features to improve its pace and grace. Howse’s goal was to echo the approach Jaguar took to the E-type Lightweight, only with its predecessor. Job one was to lower the roof line which serves to accentuate the car’s proportions and improve aerodynamics. Howse added more sculptural curves to the profile with enlarged wheel arches and a Coke-bottle style wider rear to the aluminium body. Almost every trace of chrome was removed and, instead, there’s a subtle crease in the hood and over the roof. Modern lighting is embedded front and back for a super clean look, while wire wheels help root the car firmly in the 1950s. The 3.5 litre, now 3.8 litre XK engine has been given a complete overhaul, including bored cylinders, bespoke cams and direct injection. There’s a fivespeed ‘box sending power to the rear via a limited slip diff, and new suspension front and rear (replacing the leaf springs) complete with vented discs etc., etc. Thornley Kelham says there’s 5000 hours of labour in every XK European, with 800 alone going into the paint process. For some, that handmade touch to develop an utterly unique Jaguar might well justify the £550,000 ($716,000) plus the cost of the donor car!!! .

Information for this story from Hagerty Media.