Jaguar Mark II

The Jaguar Mark II was produced in the late 1950’s and in the 1960’s by Jaguar Cars, Ltd., a luxury car manufacturer founded in 1922 in Coventry, England. The Mark II was a beautiful saloon car, which replaced and improved its predecessor: the Mark I, which was the first so-called small saloon car produced by Jaguar and was introduced in 1956. The Mark II was a fast car: it could accelerate from 0 to 97km/h in 11.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 193km/h. Different motors were available, namely the 2.4 L, 3.4 L or 3.8 L Jaguar XK6 engines. The 3.8 L motor was the most popular when the Mark II reached its peak of popularity, in the 1960’s. This model introduced all-round disk brakes, which were terribly efficient for the time. So efficient that Jaguar added a sign on the back of the car, because they were afraid that other cars could bump into it, being unable to stop as fast as the Mark II. Despite its compact size, the Mark II provided enough room for five adults, including the driver. The 3.4 L version consumed no less than 14.9 L/100 km.

The Jaguar Mark II was cheap enough to be affordable even for lower classes. The design was quite innovative. The model, with its famous “leaping Jaguar” mascot on the bonnet, became widely popular. Because of its efficiency (i.e. speed, space, power), it was often used to rob banks, especially by the mafia. The police also used it as a patrol car, especially on UK motorways, which in the 1960’s had no speed limit. By the way, that was the car of inspector Morse in the famous TV crime drama of the same name. In addition, the Mark II had some success in the European Touring Car Championship. In 1967, the Mark II was renamed as 240 and 340 (the 3.8 L motor being dropped) and gradually replaced by its successor: the Jaguar XJ6.

FX & Martin