Jaguar Mk2 (1961) – Into the Wild

Spotting classics is quite low at the moment, because we are in the middle of winter. Yet there are old animals that sometimes come outside. This Jaguar Mk2, for example. Cees van Wingerden spotted the posh Brit at a gas station and luckily captured him for us. Thank you, Cees! You are probably wondering what such a beautiful classic is doing outdoors. After all, the weather is not exactly good and you certainly don’t want to leave a Jaguar like that to the elements. However, the owner assured Cees that the car was only out of the garage for a short time and that the Mk2 can spend the winter nice and warm and dry in a garage.

You can count on the owner to take good care of it, because the Mk2, which is in beautiful condition, has only been in his possession since April last year. He bought the ‘Jag’ from someone who had driven and cared for it for no less than 26 years. Incidentally, the car only came to the Netherlands in the first half of the 1990s. There was a classic license plate printed on it at the time, so luckily the car is also allowed to use dark blue plates. A Mk2 with yellow plates wouldn’t actually be a sight either.

The Jaguar Mk2 was, as the name implies, the second generation of Jaguar’s post-war ‘entry-level’ model. That term is of course quite relative for a Jaguar, because the Mk2 was an (especially for its time) impressive car. This was largely due to the engine, the famous XK called six-in-line, which was available in the Mk2 with 2.5, 3.4 and 3.8 liters of displacement. Especially with the latter, the same engine as was available in the E-type, the Mk2 was very fast for its time and certainly for the type of car; it had a top speed of close to 200 km/h. After the arrival of the faster and more modern S-type, the Mk2 was clearly a bit outdated, especially in terms of handling, but the spotted copy dates from before that time. Hopefully this beauty will be back on the road in the spring with fresh courage to grace the streets!