Jaguar Mark 2

A golden anniversary review

Jaguar Mark 2: The Golden Anniversary

The Mini turned 50 in 2009, but so did two other British icons, the Triumph Bonneville and the Jaguar Mark 2. We look back on the Jaguar.

Originally published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday November 18.2009

Fast, spacious, luxurious and affordable

While Minis captured the hearts of housewives, businessmen, race- and rally drivers and penniless students alike, it was Jaguar’s medium-sized family sports saloon, the Mark 2, that endured as an all-time classic.

Taking over in 1959 from the “2.4” and “3.4” saloons, later called Mark 1, Jaguar’s Mark 2 boasted improvements to suspension, handling, braking, rear axle and body styling. Unfortunately its increased weight saw it lose a little performance to similarly spec’ed Mark 1s.

Mark 2 was fitted with a choice of three versions of the classic XK engine. These were the short-block 2483cc unit, the earlier 3.4 litre and the bored- and uprated 3.8 litre motor. This developed 220 bhp (164 kW) and was capable of up to 125 mph (201 km/h) and zero to 60 mph in 8,5 seconds, making it the fastest production saloon in the world at the time.

While the smaller versions proved popular as family cars and as weekend motorsport machines, the 3.8’s performance and racing pedigree endeared it equally to bankers and to wealthy underworld leaders in need of nimble getaway cars. Needless to say, highway patrol police quickly adopted the 3.8 as weapon of choice on the UK’s unlimited-speed freeways of the time. Some found their way to pre-independence Rhodesia to defend the honour of law and order in that country as well.

Civilian Mark 2s were true to Jaguar’s mission at the time to provide fast, spacious and luxurious family cars at affordable prices; an element that fans might say is lacking today. Interiors were dominated by the obligatory spread of dials, across beautifully polished walnut instrument panels, and real leather upholstery. Unfortunately leather made way for vinyl in 1966 when bean counters insisted on lopping Pounds off showroom price tags to compete with upstart Rover 2000 TCs.

By 1967 the 2.4 and 3.4 litre cars were renamed “240” and “340” while the 3.8 was dropped to make way for the incoming XJ6. The new cars were identified by means of slimmer bumpers, while cylinder head and carburettor changes increased performance slightly. They were phased out in 1969.

Altogether, 83 976 Mark 2s were produced, including 2 050 shipped out to South Africa for assembly at the CDA plant in East London. An unknown number were exported, fully assembled, to Rhodesia. The “240” and “340” runout models accounted for a further 7 234, including seven “340/3.8” versions built to special order.

Jaguar Mark 2s featured in many movies, notably in chase scenes, while a particularly scruffy example starred in the 1980s cult film Withnail and I. On the small screen, Mark 2s were seen in episodes of The Professionals, The Avengers and The Baron. Most familiar to SA viewers though, was probably the clean-looking but mechanically suspect 1960 model 2.4 of the late John Thaw’s Inspector Morse character.

Morse was originally intended to drive a Lancia but no suitable example was available so a cheap, used, 2.4-litre Mark 2 was bought for the purpose. This was the basic steel-wheeled version with a vinyl roof added by the producers to cover cosmetic flaws. Its suspension and brakes were dodgy at best and was famously described by Thaw as “a beggar to drive.” The engine was no better, so the car was regularly pushed into scenes, with mechanical sounds overdubbed.

After the series ended, the car was given away in a raffle, then famously auctioned for £53 200, some £45 000 above its expected value, purely as result of its famous history. After a comprehensive rebuild, it sold again for “over £100 000”. When we last heard of it, the car graced the garage of property management tycoon Ian Berg, who made it available for shows and promotions across the UK.

Update: December 19, 2011

Owned by Australian publishing company, International Publishing Group, the distinctive car remained housed in the UK and featured in a cameo role in a prequel to the series. An ITV production entitled ‘Endeavour,’ its first episode was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first instalment.

Set in 1965, Shaun Evans played Morse as a junior detective who’d just dropped out of Oxford University and was investigating the disappearance of a schoolgirl. John Thaw’s daughter, Abigail, starred alongside Evans in the eight-season drama that piloted on 2 January 2012 and went on to become a fully-fledged series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endeavour_(TV_series)

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