1960 Jaguar Mk II 3.8 Auto

The Mk II 3.8 Jaguar saloon was a handsome, powerful and good handling saloon built from 1959 to 1967. It was a quick car, even by today's standards, with 220bhp on tap with a 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 125mph. Therefore, when new, it was one of the fastest four door saloons on the planet and soon gained icon status from both its racing pedigree and its high profile use by both the police and of course the 'get away' drivers of the day!

This particular car is one of the finest MkIIs ever built. It was commissioned by noted BRDC member and Jaguar collector, Peter Hall, who was the owner of the 'History of Jaguar' museum - one of the largest and most significant private Jaguar collections in the world. He utilised the restoration company he founded, Fullbridge Carriage Company, and in particular the noted Jaguar expert, Rick Embling, to carry out the build of the car from scratch. His vision was to build the greatest Mk II ever built and to that end he located and purchased a brand new Jaguar MkII bodyshell in Germany, costing some £10,000 over 20 years ago, and then personally supervised the build.

Having acquired a suitable donor car, Rick then re-engineered, modified and improved every single component as it was fitted to the new bodyshell. This created perfect shut-lines and a very smooth driving MkII, "probably the best driving Mk II in the world", Peter told us in January 2013.

This 'no expense spared' build was confirmed in the road test undertaken by 'Jaguar World' in 1996, as the finest example that they had ever seen - 'an absolute gem'. A copy of this article can be found in the accompanying comprehensive history file. Finished in the finest combination of British Racing green with tan leather and wire wheels, the car sits and looks superb and represents a very impressive part of automotive history.

However our vendor wanted even more from the car when he saw it for sale at world renowned Jaguar specialists, JD Classics of Essex, in 2010. Accordingly he asked them to carry out a series of upgrades which included a modern automatic ZF gearbox, power steering, electronic ignition, electric radiator cooling fan, uprated brakes, air conditioning, front and rear parking sensors, central door locking with alarm, a modern hidden stereo system with I-Pod connection, front and rear electric windows, black painted wire wheels and raised front seats.Then costing over £118,000 in 2010, the car has gone on to cover a very minimal mileage since, but has been stored as part of a very significant collection and maintained 'on the button' at all times. The total mileage since the car was built is only just over 5,000 in total.

Offered at a very realistic guide price today , this one-off car represents an outstanding opportunity to own a very special piece of Jaguar history and combine classic motoring with modern creature comforts, at a fraction of its cost to build.