Made to be experienced.

Kent describes the DHC as the more sheltered convertible, with wind-up windows and a thick hood insulated with horsehair in keeping with the original construction.

The black hood has a grey headlining and uses the original steel frame with a new timber section. Raised, it gives the feeling of a coupé; folded, it leaves an open cockpit that retains its comfortable, enclosed character.

The XK engine was introduced in 1948 and remained in use in Jaguar models until the late 1980s. Kent draws particular attention to the polished aluminium covers over the twin overhead camshafts and to the twin SU carburettors.

Kent describes an enamelled exhaust manifold, whose glossy surface is part of the engine bay’s finish. The technical table in his material lists 210 bhp as gross power; this is a figure from that material, rather than a measurement of the car’s output today.

The range comprised the Open Two Seater, Fixed Head Coupé and Drophead Coupé. This car is a left-hand-drive Drophead Coupé, with the more substantial hood construction.

In Kent’s account, the car’s character comes from the combination of its flowing body lines, XK engine and open cockpit.

Kent’s material gives May 1957–January 1961 as the production period for the XK150 series and lists the following totals. The 1959 figures refer to the DHC, rather than to the entire model series.

Open Two Seater

2,265

Fixed Head Coupé

4,462

Drophead Coupé

2,671

DHC, 1959 model year

662

Left-hand-drive DHC, 1959 model year

264

Kent notes that only a small number of the left-hand-drive DHC cars from 1959 had automatic transmission.