Jaguar Mark 2

The Jaguar Mark 2 is a medium-sized saloon car built from late 1959 to 1967 by Jaguar in Coventry, England. Twelve months before the announcement of the XJ6 the 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre Mark 2 models were renamed to Jaguar 240 and Jaguar 340 respectively. The previous Jaguar 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre models made between 1955 and 1959 have been identified as Mark 1 Jaguars since Jaguar produced this Mark 2 model.

Until the XJ, Jaguar's postwar saloons were usually denoted by Roman numerals (e.g. Mark VII, Mark VIII) while the Mark 2 used Arabic Numerals, denoted on the rear of the car as "MK 2".

The XK engine

Adhering to Sir William Lyons' maxim of "grace, pace and space", the Mark 2 was a fast and capable saloon. It came with a 120 bhp (89 kW; 120 PS) 2,483 cubic centimetres (152 cu in), 210 bhp (160 kW; 210 PS) 3,442 cubic centimetres (210 cu in) or 220 bhp (160 kW; 220 PS) 3,781 cubic centimetres (231 cu in) Jaguar XK engine. The 3.8 is similar to the unit used in the 3.8 E-Type (called XKE in the USA), having the same block, crank, connecting rods and pistons but different inlet manifold and carburation (two SUs versus three on the E-Type in Europe) and therefore 30 bhp (22 kW) less. The head of the six-cylinder engine in the Mark 2 had curved ports compared to the straight ports of the E-Type configuration. The 3.4 Litre and 3.8 Litre cars were fitted with twin SU HD6 carburettors and the 2.4 Litre with twin Solex carburettors.