The car in second photo is not a Jaguar Mk 2, but a Daimler 250 V8 - a Jaguar Mk 2 bodyshell but with a 2.5 litre Daimler V8 engine in place of the Jaguar twin-cam 6 - you can tell this by the radiator grille, that has a wavy top. (Jaguar had bought the Daimler company).

The Jaguar Mk 2 was an update of the original Jaguar 2.4 and 3.4 models, which later became known as the Mk 1 - these had smaller windows and a narrower rear track and covered rear wheels - made from 1957 to 1959.

This is a Jaguar Mk 1 :http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Jaguar/56_Jaguar_Mark_1_DV_05_Scars_004.jpg

The last Mk 2s were the 240 / 340, which had thin bumpers instead of the heavy ones.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 21/04/2010 at 14:36

I would also dispute that claim. Surely the most charismatic production Jaguar of all time was the E-Type. As for Jaguar saloons, the original XJ6 probably had the most 'class'. People thought they were amazing when they first came out in 1968, even if they did turn out to be complex and unreliable rustbuckets in middle-age!

Edited by Sofa Spud on 21/04/2010 at 16:55

Daimler was much nicer to drive: friend had one: very smooth and quiet. Almost all were autos...

Jaguar manual gearboxes were a bit agricultural...

I have memories of them in car auctions looking clapped out with blown exhausts and creaking suspension...Class? NO.

Tarted up rubbish..Usually...

An uncle of mine had a couple of them and would somtimes let me drive tha last one he had. I found it pretty disapointing,heavy steering and not that quick. Of course this was at the end oh the 60s when there were really nice smallish quick saloons comeing from BMW with the 1600/2002 and Ford with the Cortina/Escort twin cams.

I do remember that Seans Mk 2s did seem to take a lot of mainainance, reminded me of the saying that the Jag was and expensive car built cheaply.

As for the XJ6, the first time I saw one was in Northern Ireland. I was comeing from behind it in the Lotus Cortine and had to work fairly hard to cath up with it and pass it. The thing was, when I passed it I saw it was being driven by an old (well to me at that time) guy who did not even seem to realise that he was makeing b***** good headway.

A couple of years later I worked for a guy who had a couple of them. The arlier one was pleasent enough but just did not feel like a drivers car. The later one seem to have more feel, better steering feel and just felt good, a real sports saloon.