![Jaguar MK-IX 1960 Front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Jaguar_MK-IX_1960_Front.jpg)
The Jaguar Mark IX is a four-door luxury
saloon car
A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo.
The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...
announced 8 October 1958
[Greater Power of the Jaguar IX. ''The Times'', Wednesday, October 8, 1958, Issue 54276, p.4] and produced by
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
between 1958 and 1961. It was generally similar to the
Mark VIII it replaced, but had a larger, more powerful 3.8 litre engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, and power assisted recirculating ball steering among its mechanical improvements.
Visually the early versions were identical in exterior appearance to the Mark VIII except for the addition of a chrome "Mk IX" badge to the boot lid. Later versions had a larger tail-lamp assembly with an amber section for traffic indication, visually similar to the tail-lights of the smaller
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 ...
.
It was replaced by the lower and more contemporary-styled
Mark X in 1961.
Features
A four-speed manual system transmission was standard. Options included
overdrive
Overdrive may refer to:
Organizations
* OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media
** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc.
* Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro
Technology
* Overdrive ...
and a
Borg Warner three-speed automatic box, the most popular choice.
Internally, an enlarged-bore 3.8 L (231 in³),
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
straight-6
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...
XK engine replaced the previous 3.4 L (210 in³) XK unit. The B-type head of the Mark VIII was retained, but with a chamber at the bottom of the combustion chamber to accommodate the enlarged bore. Twin HD6 1.75" SU carburettors were fitted. A smaller electromagnetically controlled auxiliary carburettor was placed between the main pair of carburettors to act as a choke. It often proved troublesome in operation and many were converted to manual switching . Standard compression ratio was 8:1, but a higher performance 9:1 compression ratio was also available, as was a 7:1 compression ratio for export markets, such as Africa, where quality of petrol was sometimes a problem.
The Mark IX was the first production Jaguar to offer four-wheel servo-assisted Dunlop
disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s and recirculating ball
power steering
A power steering is a mechanical device equipped on a motor vehicle that helps drivers steer the vehicle by reducing steering effort needed to turn the steering wheel, making it easier for the vehicle to turn or maneuver at lower speeds.
Hydraul ...
, which were now standard equipment. The brake system included a vacuum reserve tank to preserve braking in the event that the engine stalled. Automatic transmission were fitted with a hill-holding "anti-creep" feature, where an electromagnetic valve maintained brake pressure at rest when the brake pedal was released to prevent the car from rolling back on an incline.
The power steering was driven by a Hobourn-Eaton pump, operating at 600-650 psi. It was attached to the back of the generator and allowed the steering to be geared up to 3.5 turns lock-to-lock as against the 4.5 turns for the Mark VII and VIII models.
Unlike the early automatic Mark VII predecessor, (but like late mark VII and all Mark VIII) the Borg Warner DG automatic gearbox started in first gear and had a dash-mounted switch to allow second gear to be held indefinitely. Once in third gear, a series of clutches engaged to allow direct drive rather than through the torque converter.
The torsion bar independent front suspension and leaf-sprung rear live axle were retained from the Mk VIII, which, in turn, was first used in the 1949 Mark V.
Final drive was 4.27:1, (4.55:1 when overdrive was fitted).
The sunshine roof became a standard fitting for the UK market. The interior was luxurious, with extensive use of leather, burled walnut and deep pile carpet. A range of single and twin-tone paint schemes was offered.
Performance
![1960 Jaguar MK-IX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/1960_Jaguar_MK-IX.jpg)
A car with automatic transmission tested by the British magazine ''
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 ...
'' in 1958 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0– in 11.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £2162 including taxes of £721.
[ In addition, the Mark IX attained 30 mph in 4.2 seconds, and 100 mph in 34.8 secs. It covered the standing quarter mile in 18.1 secs.
Autocar magazine tested a Mk IX Automatic in its Used Cars on the Road series, number 200, published in the edition dated 14 December 1962. This vehicle at the recorded mileage of around 34,000 achieved acceleration figures of 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 10.1 secs and 0-100 mph (161 km/h) in 28.8 secs. The Standing Quarter-mile was passed in 17.6 secs.
]
Sales
The Mark IX was popular as a state car. When Charles de Gaulle paid a state visit to Canada in 1960, the official cars for the motorcade were Mark IX Jaguars. The British Queen Mother had a Jaguar Mark VII, which was progressively upgraded to be externally identical to the later Mark IX. The Nigerian government bought forty Mark IXs, painted in state colours of green and white. The large Jaguars of the 1950s were sufficiently popular in western Africa that "Jagwah" survives as a colloquialism for "smart man-about-town".
In the luxury car market, the Jaguar Mk IX was very competitively priced, selling for £1995 with manual gearbox, £2063 with overdrive, and £2163 with automatic transmission, which was less than half the price of similar competitors. In all, 10,009 were produced.[
]
Classic racing circuit
The Mark IX's power and good brakes for a vehicle of the era, together with its impressive aesthetic appearance, make it a common choice for classic car circuit racing, such as at the Goodwood Circuit's Revival meetings.
References
External links
www.saloondata.com
Volunteer register with records and photos of the Mk. IX
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaguar Mark Ix
Mark 9
Mark 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with Jesus' prediction that "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see
that the kingdom of God h ...
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
1960s cars
Cars introduced in 1959