OK, not the entire engine, just some jewelry intake parts and cam housings.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Jaguar seamlessly combined art with engineering. This era of cars was both stunning to drive and look at and this carried on through every element of the cars. The XK engine is an example of this. The revolutionary twin overhead cam engine was designed and developed by the Jaguar/SS team during the Second World War when the Jaguar factory was being used for the war effort. The aim was to produce an engine which produced higher than normal output so would be able to outperform the completion for many years to come and which ‘looked good’. It was then launched in 1948 in the first prototype XK120 at the London Motor Show and the engine delivered on all counts.
The performance from an XK engine was incredible for the time and even a 3.4 liter powered car remains swift by modern motoring standards. The engine was such a success it remained in production in various forms all the way up to 1992. It also looks stunning in the engine bay, particularly with the smooth cam covers fitted to XKs and early E-Type.
Pictured here is the rather attractive cylinder head of an XK150 engine which is currently being rebuilt in the workshop.