Thornley Kelham’s New Jaguar XK Restomod Is A Gorgeous 360bhp Roadster

It feels like we’re reporting on another new restomod on a weekly basis these days, and this particular week, it comes from British outfit Thornley Kelham. Unlike lots of other restomodders, this small Cotswold-based firm isn’t particularly choosy with the cars it overhauls, having dabbled with Lancias, Porsches and XK-series Jaguars.

This one falls into that last category. Joining a similar coupe already offered, it’s officially called the Jaguar XK European Roadster by Thornley Kelham, and, according to company director Simon Thornley, is envisioned as a ‘what-if’ project, exploring what form the original 1950s XK could have taken if Jag continued developing it beyond the XK150 rather than replacing the line with the E-Type.

To that end, the car’s all-alloy straight-six engine has been bored out to 3.9 litres and thoroughly reworked to the point it’s now developing 360bhp, a massive 225 per cent increase over an original XK120. It’s also making 310lb ft of torque, while a bespoke stainless steel exhaust system should make the most of the soundtrack – unless you go for the optional Inconel setup.

Underneath, it’s about as far removed from an original XK as that car was from a horse. It has new double wishbone suspension with Eibach springs and bespoke Intrax dampers, and there’s even the option of adaptive damping.

It gets a new five-speed manual ’box that sends its power through a mechanical LSD, and there are vented and drilled disc brakes with four-pot callipers at both ends. A new Quaife rack-and-pinion steering setup, with optional power assistance, completes the major mechanical changes.

All in, the car weighs a scant 1180kg. That’s thanks in part to its seam-welded alloy body, with subtle styling tweaks from former McLaren stylist Paul Howse. Interior tweaks are just as visually minimal, but it gets discreetly integrated mod cons like climate control, a heated windscreen and Bluetooth.

In total, a single example of the XK European Roadster takes over 6,000 hours to complete from start to finish. This might explain why a) Thornley Kelham is only building 25 of them and b) they’ll each have a hefty £750,000 entry point – and it’s not clear if that includes a donor car.