The Jaguar Mark II is one of the most important and successful cars the British automaker has ever built. It was everything at the time: opulent, fast, and looking like nothing else on the road. To think that this is company we now see today struggling to find a brand identity that resonates with car buyers, and to build a vehicle that consumers would want to buy, certainly makes you nostalgic for the company’s glory days. The Mark II listed here on eBay is said to be a one-family owned vehicle that was recently removed from long-term storage. It’s offered for sale for $9,500 or best offer.
The MK2 was a pretty amazing machine when it arrived: in 3.8L form, it generated a truly impressive 220 horsepower and 240 lb.-ft. of torque. That number is still pretty decent by today’s standards but certainly a bit mind-blowing for the late 1950s / early 1960s. If you really wanted to stretch its legs, combining a MK2 with a manual gearbox was the way to go, and it’s surprising to me that even today this model doesn’t get more respect as one of the world’s first high-performance four-door vehicles. We swoon for the likes of the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 and the later BMW M5, but the Jaguar MK2 seems to have planted the flag first on the appeal of a high-performance sedan.
Like all Jaguars of this vintage, the interiors are a sight to behold. Opulent and handsome, even today the cockpit of this MK2 looks positively welcoming. The claims of this being stored indoors for many years seems to hold up, as all that leather and wood trim would have been absolutely destroyed if this Jaguar was parked outside for decades. The seller notes that this MK2 was featured on a YouTube channel that performs quick details of barn find vehicles, and you can tell the car has been cleaned up beyond just a quick vacuum. With the detailing done and the engine confirmed as running, some heavy lifting has already been performed for the next owner.
The seller notes that he has not gone so far as to clean the tanks or replace the pump, but he did go through the ignition system and convert it to an electronic setup. Additionally, he though this MK2 was an original car but now believes it was repainted at some point and the leather seats potentially re-done and replaced with naugahyde. Still, it looks like a solid example, and well worth the next few rounds of parts orders and labor to get it to drive under its own power. The listing mentions that he may just keep it and convert it to a manual if it doesn’t sell, which I think is a tremendous “Plan B” if it doesn’t find a new home. Do you think a MK2 Jaguar barn find like this is worth restoring?
I know I’ve posted this picture before. But whenever I see an early Mark II I always think of the British TV inspector Morse. I believe his was a ’60. These are indeed beautiful cars. The 3.8 and a 4 speed was absolutely a high performance sedan in its day. I’m in line with Jeffs thinking that these really should be more recognized as an early high performance sport sedan. The interiors are indeed beautiful, the wood, leather, everything just blends together very nicely. Looks like its solid.
Great write up Jeff. I enjoyed it.
I always wondered if the red one in “Morse” was supposed to be the black one in “Endeavour”?
Agree with Driveinstyle. I’ve never seen a Mark II in yellow (for which I’m grateful), so a repaint — perhaps in BRG — would be in order. After that, a manual transmission and a set of wire wheels would take this to the top of my personal charts.
I’ve seen these race, and am convinced they can get around a track very nicely, even if that’s not necessarily what Sir William intended. The racers had no doubt been massaged a bit, and could stay up with race-prepped C1 ‘Vettes. Nevertheless, it’s their mile-eating qualities — and all the luxury trimmings — that appeal to me. And yes, they are gorgeous.
Between the Mark IIs and E-Types, Jaguar used to know how to build high-class machines. I wish their current management paid attention to what made the company as great as it was.
You only have to go to You Tube to call up the “Goodwood Revival 2025” to see just how these Mk 2 Jaguars can really perform!
This shade of pale yellow appears to be the standard “primrose” shade Jaguar offered at the time (or a respray approximation of it), and a Google image search for “jaguar mark 2 primrose” turns up several examples.
BTW, I gather the official factory nomenclature was “Mark 2”, but badged as “Mk 2” on the trunklid—never “II” in either case, the only Jaguar Mark-series model to use an Arabic numeral instead of Roman.
As I have said before….I always liked these Jags and it would probably be the only one I could buy (and afford). The caveat would be however that it would need to be manual trans. I have no interest in a classic like this with an automatic trans. I am ‘old school’ and these cars (for me) need to be shifted by the driver, not the other way around.
Exactly Joey! I have seen these machines hurtling around race tracks! Great. One or 2 taken out to 4.2 litres. If you can’t change gears, drive a mobility scooter.
stylin !
Glad Jeff gives it the rep it deserves. I’d daily it
(in the Brit green paint and blk or these tan seats)
proudly. An icon we should look to today (not some
Kia space ship, altho they’ve toned them down a bit).