Jaguar Mark 2
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The Jaguar Mark 2 is a mid-sized luxury
sports saloon A sports sedan (also known as sports saloon in British English) is a subjective term for a sedan car that is designed to have sporting performance or handling characteristics. History The term was originally introduced in the 1930s an ...
built from late 1959 to 1967 by
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
in
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, England. The previous Jaguar 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre models made between 1955 and 1959 are identified as
Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts conta ...
Jaguars.Eric Dymock, The Jaguar File, 3rd edition, 2004, Dove Publishing The Mark 2 was a fast and capable saloon in line with
Sir William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...
' 1950s advertising slogan: ''Grace . . . Space . . . Pace'', available with all three versions of the advanced Jaguar XK6 I6 engine, the 2.4, 3.4, and 3.8 litre. Production of the 3.8 ended in the (northern) autumn of 1967, with discounted sale of the 3.4 continuing on as the 340 until September 1968, and the 2.4 as the 240 until April 1969. There was no direct successor to the Mark 2 series. The 3.8 litre Jaguar S-type, an upscaled and refined version of the Mark 2, had already appeared in 1963, well before the first of the Mark 2 models was discontinued. The
Jaguar 420 The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
, a more powerful and refined version of the S-Type, appeared in 1966. Both of those models remained in production until late 1968, when the
Jaguar XJ6 The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
appeared, ostensibly replacing and placed rather midway between them and the larger, more expensive
Jaguar Mark X The Jaguar Mark X (Mark Ten), later renamed the Jaguar 420G, was British manufacturer Jaguar's top-of-the-range saloon car for a decade, from 1961 to 1970. The large, luxurious Mark X succeeded the Mark IX as the company's top s ...
produced since 1961.


Engine

The Mark 2 came with a , or
Jaguar XK engine The Jaguar XK is an inline 6-cylinder dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine produced by Jaguar Cars between 1949 and 1992. Introduced as a 3.4-litre, it earned fame on both the road and track, being produced in five displacements between 2 ...
. The 3.8 is similar to the unit used in the 3.8 E-Type (called XKE in the USA), having the same block, crank, connecting rods and pistons but different inlet manifold and carburation (two SUs versus three on the E-Type in Europe) and therefore less. The head of the six-cylinder engine in the Mark 2 had curved ports compared to the straight ports of the E-Type configuration. The 3.4 Litre and 3.8 Litre cars were fitted with twin SU HD6 carburettors and the 2.4 Litre with twin Solex carburettors. Aware of the importance of the quotable numbers to the US market Jaguar continued to use claimed gross bhp figures throughout the production period of the Mk II and 240/340 models. A direct conversion into DIN bhp is not possible, but the 3.8 Mk II engine developed about 190 bhp by modern DIN standards. This compares with the later 4.2 XJ6 engine which also gave around 190 bhp DIN, or 245 gross bhp according to Jaguar. The explanation was that the XJ6 4.2 engine was delivering the power at less rpm. The camshaft timing and inlet and exhaust valve sizes were the same for the 2.4,3.4,3.8 Mk II and XJ6 4.2 engines, so the engines throttled themselves sooner in the bigger engine sizes. Later 4.2 XJ6 engines had special induction pipes, to reduce exhaust emissions, that crossed over between the inlet and exhaust sides of the engine. These reduced bhp to around 170 bhp on later production.


Body

The new car was re-engineered above the waistline, with vision dramatically improved by an 18% increase in cabin glass area. Slender front pillars allowed a wider windscreen, and the rear window almost wrapped around to the enlarged side windows, now with the familiar Jaguar D-shape above the back door and fully chromed frames for all the side windows. The radiator grille was changed, and larger side, tail and fog lamps were repositioned. Inside a new heating system was fitted and ducted to the rear compartment. There was an improved instrument layout that became standard for all Jaguar cars until the XJ series II of 1973.British Cars At Paris Show. ''The Times'', Friday, 2 Oct 1959; pg. 9; Issue 54581


Mechanical changes

The front suspension geometry was rearranged to raise the roll centre and the rear track widened. Four-wheel disc brakes were now standard. Power steering, overdrive or automatic transmissions could be fitted at extra cost. The 3.8 litre was supplied fitted with a limited-slip differential. The Mark 2 was over 100 kg heavier than the 2.4 / 3.4 cars. The car continued to use a
live axle A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have als ...
at the rear.


240 and 340

Some time on or about September 1967 the 3.8 litre model was discontinuedNew Jaguars, ''The Times'', Tuesday, 26 Sep 1967; pg. 3; Issue 57056. and the 2.4 and 3.4 litre Mark 2 cars were rebadged as the 240 and 340 respectively as gap-fillers until the XJ6 arrived in September 1968. The 340 was discontinued at that time, but remaining Series 2 parts were used up producing budget-priced 240s until April 1969. These sold at £1364, only £20 more than the first 2.4 in 1956. Output of the 240 engine was increased from at 5,750 rpm. to at 5,500 rpm. and torque was increased. It now had a straight-port type cylinder head and twin HS6 SU carburettors with a new inlet manifold. The automatic transmission was upgraded to a Borg-Warner 35 dual drive range. Power steering by Marles Varamatic was now available on the 340. Servicing intervals were increased from to . There was a slight reshaping of the rear body and slimmer bumpers and over-riders were fitted. For the first time the 2.4 litre model could exceed 100 mph,Skilleter, Paul & Whyte, Andrew: Jaguar Saloon Cars. Haynes (1980), resulting in a slight sales resurgence. The 240 and 340 models retained cost-saving downgrades that had appeared a year earlier in the Mark 2 series. Standard leather upholstery was replaced by ''Ambla'', a leather-like synthetic material, and tufted carpet was used on the floor. The front fog lamps were replaced with circular vents and made optional for the UK market. The sales price was reduced to compete with the Rover 2000 TC.


Production

Mark 2: 83,976 produced between 1959 and 1967, split as follows: :2.4 litre – 25,173 :3.4 litre – 28,666 :3.8 litre – 30,141 240 and 340: 7,246 produced between 1967 and 1969, split as follows: :240 – 4,446 :340 – 2,788 :380 – 12 (not a standard production option) The XJ6 was introduced in September 1968.


Performance

A 3.4 litre with automatic transmission tested by ''
The Motor ''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine ''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' magazine in 1961 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 11.9 seconds. A touring fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1951 including taxes of £614. A 3.8 litre with the 220 bhp engine was capable of accelerating from 0- in 8.5 seconds and could reach a top speed of .


Motorsport

*
Bob Jane Robert Frederick Jane (18 December 1929 – 28 September 2018) was an Australian race car driver and prominent entrepreneur and business tycoon. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a ...
won the
1962 Australian Touring Car Championship The 1962 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Appendix J Touring Cars.Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7Major Australian Touring Car Racing Categories, ...
driving a 3.8 litre Mark 2. * Michael Parkes and Jimmy Blumer won the 1962 The Motor Six Hours International Saloon Car Race driving a 3.8 litre Mark 2. * Peter Nöcker won the 1963 European Touring Car Challenge driving a 3.8 litre Mark 2. *
Bob Jane Robert Frederick Jane (18 December 1929 – 28 September 2018) was an Australian race car driver and prominent entrepreneur and business tycoon. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a ...
won the 1963 Australian Touring Car Championship driving a 3.8 litre Mark 2 (fitted with a 4.1 litre engine). *
Roy Salvadori Roy Francesco Salvadori (12 May 1922 – 3 June 2012) was a British racing driver and team manager. He was born in Dovercourt, Essex, to parents of Italian descent. He graduated to Formula One by 1952 and competed regularly until 1962 for a s ...
and
Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...
won the 1963 Brands Hatch 6 Hours driving a 3.8 litre Mark 2.


Daimler 2.5 V8 and V8-250

Jaguar also marketed from 1962 to 1969 a distinctive Daimler version of the Mark 2 branded Daimler 2.5 V8 fitted with Daimler's 2½-litre V8. In late 1967 it was re-labelled V8-250 when the Mark 2 became the Jaguar 240. As well as being significantly more powerful than the 2.4-litre XK6, the more modern Daimler engine was shorter and also lighter by about . This significant reduction in mass over the front wheels and redistribution of weight to the rear reduced understeer during hard cornering. These cars were externally identified by Daimler fluting at the top of the radiator grille and the top of the rear number plate lamp cover, their smoothness, and the sound of their V8 engine. They were given distinctive interior fittings.


Legacy

The Mark 2's body lines, derived from the Mark 1, and overall layout proved sufficiently popular over time to provide inspiration for the second-generation Jaguar S-Type, a nostalgia model introduced in 1999. Brendan McAleer of the
Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
described the 2015
Jaguar XE The Jaguar XE (X760) is a rear or all-wheel drive, front-engine, four-door compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Jaguar Land Rover, under their Jaguar marque. The successor to the X-Type, it was designed by Ian Callum and launched a ...
as the Mark 2's spiritual descendant. Japanese automaker
Mitsuoka Motors is a small Japanese automobile company. It is noted for building unique cars with unconventional styling, some of which are modern while others imitate the look of American, European and particularly British retro cars of the 1950s and 1960s. Mi ...
produced the Viewt in 1994, a subcompact hatchback with Jaguar MK2 features.


Portrayal in media

The Mark 2 gained a reputation as a capable car among criminals and law enforcement alike; the 3.8 litre model being particularly fast with its 220 bhp (164 kW) engine driving the car from 0- in 8.5 seconds and to a top speed of with enough room for five adults. Popular as getaway cars, they were also employed by the police to patrol British
motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
. A Regency red 1960 Mark 2 was used by Detective Chief Inspector Morse throughout the ''
Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...
'' television series. The car was given away in 2002 in a competition after the ending of the series and, after resales, in November 2005 was sold for more than £100,000.


Notes


References

*Schrader, Halwart: ''Typenkompass Jaguar – Personenwagen seit 1931'', Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart (2001), *Stertkamp, Heiner: ''Jaguar – die komplette Chronik von 1922 bis heute, 2''. Auflage, Heel-Verlag, (2006)


External links


Video of 3.8 and 3.4 as new (as well as Daimler 2.5 V8)

Volunteer register with records and photos of the Mk. II
{{Jaguar
Mark 2 Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, m ...
Jaguar Mark 2 The Jaguar Mark 2 is a mid-sized luxury sports saloon built from late 1959 to 1967 by Jaguar in Coventry, England. The previous Jaguar 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre models made between 1955 and 1959 are identified as Mark 1 Jaguars.Eric Dymock, Th ...
Cars introduced in 1959 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Touring cars Limousines Sports sedans Executive cars