Perry Atha and Brian Murray joke that they have been friends since before they were born. How’s that? Their parents were pals and next-door neighbors. The boys were born just months apart. That was 52 years ago.

Together they went to Prairie School, Indian Hills and Shawnee Mission East. They raced boats around Lake Lotawana as kids, became Eagle Scouts and went to the Philmont Scout Ranch.  They took sons to Philmont last summer.

“We played with Corgi cars,” Murray said, but now they’re playing with iconic British sports cars: A 1953 Jaguar XK120 and a 1955 Austin-Healey BN1.

Murray, of Mission Hills, has loved Austin-Healeys since he bought his first one at age 17, and he still has it. His second Healey is the stunning 1955 that he purchased from England about a year ago.

A few years back, Atha, of Prairie Village, restored his dad’s Lotus Elan, but he just added a 1953 Jaguar XK120 to his garage because he wanted a car he could drive in the Colorado Grand, a 1,000-mile vintage car tour through the mountains held each September. Atha and Murray have driven one of Murray’s cars in the Grand for the last four years.

Atha’s Jag is a spectacular car with 37,000 original miles. It sold new on March 21, 1953, in Springfield, Ill. In 1998, it underwent a complete restoration, at which time it was upgraded for touring with the addition of a five-speed transmission, heavier wire wheels, an electric fuel pump, an additional cooling fan and a stainless steel exhaust.

Murray’s Healey was built by Cape International in Warwick, England. Cape modernized the car with disc brakes, a double firewall that sandwiches extra heat insulation, a custom alloy air box, alloy catch tanks and a hydraulic clutch. The cabin has been upgraded with nicer upholstery and carpet.

So how do these British beauties compare? A short ride in both demonstrated their differences. Both stir the soul but with a different song. The Healey is brash and bold. Its raucous exhaust shoots out of dual exhaust pipes under the driver’s door, and the low windscreen gives plenty of wind-in-the-face motoring.

The Jag, on the other hand, is aloof and elegant. Its butter-smooth six-cylinder sings a sweet note through its long dual exhausts, culminating with a bark that makes your neck hair stand up. The ride is soft and luxurious.

For Atha and Murray, these beautiful cars are one more connection that keeps them best friends.