I can’t in all good conscience pretend that this post merits more than the CC Outtake tag, because it was one of those cars that was damn near impossible to photograph, so this is going to be a real short one. However, CC has a great big Mark 2-shaped hole in its Jaguar coverage, which is coupled, in no small part due to yours truly, with a plague of Mitsuoka Viewt articles.
So consider this my modest contribution towards a modicum of balance in the CC universe. After all, there should be more Jags than Mitsuokas out there. Maybe not where I live, but on the planet as a whole, the Mark 2s rule.
See what I mean about being impossible to photograph? You can barely make out that glorious row of switches. One of the best dashes of the postwar era ruined by glare. And by that aftermarket steering wheel. Love the gray leather though.
And of course I adore the Mark 2 and all classic (i.e. pre-XJ40) Jaguars in general. How can anybody resist this iconic look, that legendary XK straight-6 – especially the bigger ones – and that gorgeous interior?
So here’s hoping someone out there can score a far more cooperative big cat for an impromptu al fresco photo session and do this amazing car justice. If it’s me, I’ll gladly write it up. In the meantime, I have some real Mitsuokas to worry about.
Uninformed as I am regarding most British vehicles, I did develop a distant fascination for the Jaguar Mark II on the British television series “Inspector Morse” that ran from 1987 to 2000.
Morse was a gruff, pub pint loving, British policeman played by the late John Thaw and he drove a beautiful dark red Mark II.
According to https://classiccars.fandom.com/wiki/Inspector_Morse: “The model used in the TV series is the 2.4l engine model generating 120bhp and capable of a top speed of 120mph. The original plates (248 RPA) were issued in July 1960 by Surrey County Council … To date there are 79,460 miles on the odometer… It was overhauled in 2005 at a cost of £100,000 before being sold to a private collector who wished the car to remain in the UK. “
I’m almost tempted to call the color of Morse’s Mark II Honduras Maroon.
But I will not.
The 2.4 – and I think the Morse car was also an automatic – was the very poor relative of the glamourous 3.4 and 3.8 versions of the Jag twin-cam six. A small, long-stroke six, with restricted ports, presumably for economy, which it in any case failed to provide. In standard form, it is pretty unlikely the old thing could reach 100mph, let alone exceed it.
I have wondered if the choice was deliberate in Inspector Morse. He was meant to be a bit of inward-focussed type, classical music lover and pipe smoker. Perhaps the idea was that such a character loved the interior and exterior of such a Jag, but couldn’t have cared less about how it went.
Incidentally, I associate John Thaw more with The Sweeney, a action, tough-cop ’70’s Brit TV show (the Sweeney being rhyming slang: they were the Flying Squad, a real UK squad that was not planes but vaguely like SWAT detectives who sweep in to deal with a particular crime issue). Whilst his character generally drove a new Eurpoean Granada, the baddies they chased seemed all to have old Jags, of the speedy 3.8 manual variety.
If you can find the show somewhere and liked Thaw as an actor, it’s possible you might just enjoy it. It’d be hard not to like the car chases, at minimum!
The choice of Jaguar as Morse’s car was actually down to the actor John Thaw, who played Morse. In the original novels, Morse drove a Lancia (which model was never specified).
When Thaw took the part, he argued that a British patriot like Morse would never drive a foreign car. Apparently the argument was convincing, as Dexter had his publishers change subsequent printings of his novels from Lancia to Jaguar.
As to why it was a 2.4, I could not find a reference as to why, but I imagine the salary of a public servant like Morse would not stretch to a fancier model.
Interestingly, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, “John Thaw, reportedly turned down the offer of his screen car as a parting gift, complaining it was too slow and ‘terrible to drive’. Carlton TV dismissed this but admitted that Thaw, who in real life drives a new Jaguar XK8, was not a great fan.”
For comparison purposes:
What a wonderful thing a Mk II Jag is. If ever there were a 4-door car that said “sports”, this is the one. And it does so without pretending it’s anything but a saloon. The back seat is particularly inviting, even from across the street. The expansive sidelights and that little bump in the rear ventipane say, “Come on in — you’ll like it back here!”
I quite agree.
There are likely (normal, non-car-obsessed) people in Japan that would see this go by and think, “Oh, another Mitsuoka” given that those seem to outnumber the genuine article…
It looks quite good in 2018’s default paint color as well, I might add! Although a dark red interior would be the cherry on top rather than lease-special black.
Strange Mitsuoka with a lower roof.
Yes, this grey on grey combo is a bit lame. It’s a very Japanese colour choice. They’re all about beige, eggshell and grey here.
Like a Bi-polar woman: Fun to embrace but difficult to live with for the long run.
I had one of those for 17 years. Then I couldn’t take it any longer. Expensive breakup.
I-know-THAT’S-right!
It look almost identical to this one featured in an episode of the British series The Champions. https://www.imcdb.org/v023277.html
Dare I say great minds think alike? I’m just starting the research for a Jaguar 2.4 litre MK2 piece, based on a rather nice 1962 example I saw a few weeks ago…in more enticing British racing green.
Still, a nice find from across the world.
BRG is the best colour for these, though the Inspector Morse dark red also works very well. This grey one was not just a dull colour, but very difficult to shoot.
Looking forward to reading about that 2.4, Roger! Ten years of CC without a proper Mk2 post is about a decade too much.
Old English White is also nice, especially with red leather.
Real MK2s shouldnt be that hard to find in Japan plenty of Beacham Jags ended up over there and he specialized in MK2s, hundreds if not thousands must have been refurbished at their workshop.
The Mk2 3.8 was the favoured car of bank robbers in 1960s Britain
Is it for sale? Would love driving this down any road and care for it in the best possible way. Five me a deal and I’ll give you my 2004 land rover ( silver on silver) Just had a new engine put in.