Jaguar Mk.II 1968 - World Of Classic Cars -

Jaguar Mk.II 1968

The lineage of the Mk. II can be directly traced back to its predecessor, the 2.4 saloon, or Mk. I as it would be retrospectively known in later years. This sporting saloon, designed to fill the gap in Jaguar's range between the XK sports and voluminous Mk. VII, entered the market in 1956. Power came from the legendary XK straight six, twin-cam engine in 2483cc form. The 2.4 was notable as being a complete breakaway from the previous designs of (Sir) William Lyons and Co., and was their first foray into the modern world of monocoque construction. Traditional Jaguar buyers would not feel alienated by the new offering from Coventry as the interior was up to their usual standards with leather and walnut being the order of the day and 112bhp available to the 'press-on' motorist. Rather than introduce a completely brand new car, Jaguar successfully re-designed the car from stem to stern and the Mk. II was born debuting in 1959. The chunky windscreen pillars of the early car were replaced by slimmer offerings giving a much more airy cabin, which both improved the styling and freshened up the design for the new decade.