What is it we love about the Jaguar Mk2? At 65 years old we love it more than ever. To several generations it has a history, it’s been Dad’s car, a police car, a getaway car, a television star, a hot rod donor car, a banger racer and a show car. It reminds us of the old days, before political correctness because a buzzword and when all manner of societal ills could be excused as a little mischief. Unashamedly raffish and new money, and yet with a thin veneer of respectability, the spiv’s favourite occupies a rare automotive position in the nation’s collective rosetinted retrospective alongside the Land Rover, the Mini and the London cab. People have memories of the Mk2 and its family from all walks of life, and six and a half decades on it’s only right that we celebrate the machine that has touched so many people in so many different ways.
The Mk2 story cannot be told without reference to its predecessor, the 2.4-litre ofbased in part upon its range’s unique dichotomy – it offered big saloons for bookies and spivs, and sports cars for the well-heeled cad. But when the XK buyers needed something with more space, perhaps after starting a family or a respectable job, there was nothing really suitable that retained the sporting image. Jaguar therefore created a smaller saloon, inspired by the styling of the sports cars and with rather more glamour than its larger models. Jaguar’s first monocoque arguably created the template for the premium sports saloon, and it became an instant hit. The range expanded in 1957 with the launch of the 3.4-litre, offering increased performance for those not satisfied by the 2.4’s pace.
