The Mk. II can be directly traced back to its predecessor, the 2.4 saloon or Mk. I as it would be retrospectively known in later years. Traditional Jaguar buyers would not feel alienated by the new offering from Coventry however, as the interior was up to their usual standards with leather and walnut being the order of the day. With 112bhp available, the 2.4 was not overly burdened with pace, so Jaguar's response was to come in the shape of a 3.4 litre version which was launched in 1957. As a result, 120mph was a genuinely achievable pace, necessitating the introduction of disc brakes a year later to keep speeds in check. Rather than introduce a completely brand new car, Jaguar successfully re-designed the car from stem to stern, and the Mk. II was born, debuting in 1959. The chunky windscreen pillars of the early car were replaced by slimmer offerings giving a much airier cabin which both improved the styling and freshened up the design for the new decade. The star of the Mk. II line-up was the 3.8 litre, arguably the first super saloon, it was hugely successful in motorsport, as well as being the choice of many criminals trying to evade the law!

Our vendor found this car a number of years ago in New Zealand, it had been owned for many years by an elderly gentleman who eventually agreed to sell the car to our vendor, who then repatriated it to the UK and set about a sympathetic restoration. Being from the favourable climate of New Zealand, the car was in excellent structural condition, the interior had suffered a bit in the sun, as had the paintwork. Mechanically, the car was given a refresh and then used regularly by our vendor The interior was fully retrimmed by Aldridge trimmers, probably one of the very best in the business, and the result is stunning. The red leather is exceptionally well finished and the wood is superb too probably finished to an even better than new standard. The car is said to drive superbly and could now be taken to the next level with some cosmetic attention, just to tidy up the paint. As earlier mentioned, the paint has cracked in a few places and would be best described as gently patinated, so it could either be left as is, or given a full respray to bring the car up to the next level. Supplied with old registration documents from New Zealand and various invoices detailing recent works, this example is very attractively offered without reserve and will make a very worthwhile project for its next custodian, though it would be unfair to label this one as a 'project'. Consigned by Fraser Smith

Lot details
Year: 1960
Make: Jaguar
Model: Mk. II (3.8 litre)
Registration: 135 UYT
Chassis No: 201725DN
Odometer: 1,448

* Beautiful interior, retrimmed recently by Aldridge trimmers
* Desirable manual overdrive example with synchromesh gearbox fitted
* Excellent example with room for some improvement