Vehicle Description
The 1962 Jaguar Mark II 3.8 sedan is the family saloon with the
heart of an E-Type. Beautifully styled and offering a spirited
driving experience, this powerful sedan is often retroactively
referred to as the "BMW M5 of the 1960s", and it's exactly what
you'd expect from England's most accessible luxury marque. This
particular silver bombshell was treated to an incredible concours
restoration in the late 1980s, and has aged so gracefully that's is
still an impressive trophy hunter and comfortable driver today.
Dressed in a Silver Blue Metallic finish, this long, sleek Jag
really looks like a million bucks. It has a wonderful look that's
still bright and shiny, yet inviting and appropriate for modern
times as well, making it hard to resist. The restoration was so
thorough and impressive back then that this car went on to win 1st
place at the Concours D'elegance in 1988, and several prestigious
awards since, even as recently as 2016. It's no longer as close to
perfect as it was in 1988, but it still looks great today, showing
only very minor age and wear, a lot of which could be corrected
with a professional clay bar and cut-and-buff. The curvaceous
styling of the Mark II sedan is unmistakably Jaguar and you can see
echoes of the XK150 in the grille and front end, not to mention the
curving rear window. All four doors fit well and close with a
firmness that's hard to quantify and which buyers would pay extra
to have on their cars today. There's plenty of bright trim, all of
it done with exquisitely good taste, and it shows rather well,
particularly the oval grille up front and the wonderful taillight
housings in back. This car also carries a set of built-in Lucas
"flamethrower" driving lamps in addition to the headlights, giving
the big cat a very elegant face.
The British are famous for building interiors like nobody else on
Earth, and this Jaguar is the epitome of British elegance. Soft
black leather hides cover the seats, which are so nice that you'd
never guess they've been in place for 30 years, with only minor
comfort marks in the front seats present. Deeply plush carpets
suggest luxury and help control noise and all the wood you see is
actual burled walnut, not some simulation. The interior is awash in
a gently used feeling of the right kind, lending it a sophisticated
look that can be dressed up for a night on the town, or even for a
quick run to the shoppes, as it always seems appropriate. The big
steering wheel has a slender rim and the car can be guided with
just your fingertips and the 4-speed automatic transmission is
lever controlled on the column. Big, round Smiths speedometer and
tachometer gauges remain fully functional just ahead of the driver,
and the original center panel in the dash houses a set of original
Smiths auxiliary gauges, the ignition, and an array of switches and
levers that give this Jag that airplane cockpit look British
automobile designers have been fond of for decades. Below the dash,
there's a radio cover and vintage speaker cover that looks
positively 1960s (actual radio is not installed, but included), a
small middle console for a little extra storage, and the back seat
looks very lightly used and is comfortable enough to chauffeur
around the Prime Minster. The boot (that's a trunk to us Yanks) is
spacious enough for overnight bags and includes a spare tire under
the floor.
Under the long hood beats the heart of an E-Type, a 3.8 liter DOHC
inline-six that makes silky smooth power rivaled only by an
electric motor. The renowned XK series motor was the same that won
at LeMans in '51 and '53, and further improvements in reliability
and performance of this legendary Straight 6 throughout the years
made the price to performance ratio so attractive to the public,
that it even developed a reputation for being the getaway car for
of choice for many British criminals. The scintillating soundtrack
is a big part of the Jag's appeal, designed to be enjoyed not
simply quietly driven like big Jags of the past. You can forget the
unfair rumors about British electrical systems, as this car starts
quickly and easily and drives so well you'll forget that it's
almost 60 years old. With lots of polished aluminum and an Art Deco
air cleaner, it has a beautifully detailed look under the hood and
like many owners, you'll probably discover that keeping it healthy
really isn't all that much of a challenge after all. It was all
painstakingly restored to original specs at the time of the
concours restoration, and the lone deviation from stock that we can
find in the engine bay is actually a great improvement: a
heavy-duty aluminum radiator that looks like it has always
belonged. The undercarriage is incredibly solid and clean,
featuring a suspension that ideally blends handling and ride
comfort in a way no other automaker has been able to duplicate. A
newer dual exhaust system sounds fantastic, and the Mark II ushered
in a wider rear track that allowed better handling and deleted the
antiquated rear fenders skirts. Four-wheel disc brakes were a
standard on Jaguars long before most other brands, and they live
behind those gorgeous Jaguar Black steel wheels adorned with
correct chrome hubcaps and beauty rings, all of which are wrapped
in 205/70/15 Michelin Defender radials with plenty of tread
left.
A simply stunning car that's every bit as wonderful to drive.
Offered with build receipts, a dealer invoice and warranty
documents, an owner's manual, miscellaneous extra parts, and some
of the trophies it won when it dominated the car show circuit, this
beautiful Jag has old world charm with performance that feels far
younger. Call today!
