1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 MO/D

Rarely do cars given a facelift look as good as the models they are intended to replace, but with the Mk2, Jaguar put paid to that particular theory. William Lyons, whilst not a trained draughtsman, was a bit more hands-on than most men in his position when it came to the final design of his beloved Jaguars. At one point the team in the drawing office developing the later XJS, were left 'twiddling their thumbs' until Sir William was happy with the rear-end and it wasn't until Stan Keyworth managed to scrounge a Ferrari Dino 246GT and dropped it up to the Lyons family home on Gibbet Hill that the matter was resolved. The car was parked outside the bay window of the breakfast room for Sir William to stare at and 'Hey Presto' the back of the XJS came into being (have a look at a Dino and an early XJS). And so it was with the Mark 2, which was altogether a more modern and stylish car with a brighter interior and more balanced looks that most of us still admire. The 3.4 and 3.8 were the super-saloons of their day-with the 3.8 being the fastest saloon in the world at the time. The Jaguar Mk2 saloon was voted 'Car of the Year' when launched in 1959 and would form the mainstay of Jaguar's saloon production until 1967.

The car presented here is an original UK Mk2, 3.8 with a manual gearbox and over-drive. It was manufactured on the 7th February 1964 and despatched on the 21st February, before being distributed by Henlys of London to Page Motors of Epsom. They prepared the car for sale to its first excited owner, a Mr. J A Thurston from Epsom Downs, and it was first registered as BPB 38B (this is all supported by a Jaguar Heritage Certificate of Authenticity).

This lovely Jaguar has recently been fully resprayed in its original colour of Opalescent Silver Blue and has a grey leather interior. We are informed that structurally the car is rust-free with excellent floor pans, inner panels and under the body. The chrome work is also in very good condition for its age and everything is said to be mechanically and electrically sound. The engine shows strong oil pressure whether hot or cold, whilst the gearbox and rear axle are also working as they should with no unusual noises or vibrations. It has knock on wire wheels and still has a complete tool kit in the recess of the spare wire wheel in the boot.

Our vendor has had the car serviced recently, and it has an MoT (with no advisories) until the 13th August 2016. The car has rightly been cherished by previous owners, having spent twenty years (1993-2013) in Japan, where it was thoroughly maintained and serviced annually. The fastidious owner ensured that a service record was completed, confirming that it covered just 7,522 miles over these two decades. The car was returned to these shores by our vendor who is a classic car enthusiast, and has been used sparingly since. The current indicated mileage of 82,750 cannot be completely verified, but its overall condition and performance would suggest that this may be the case.