1961 Jaguar Mark II
In response to numerous customer requests, in the Summer of 2004, we added a Jaguar Mark 2 to our hire fleet. When these were made in the 1960s they were among the best sporting saloons available and were offered in three engine sizes; 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litres. This Mark 2 is one of the early ones, made in February 1961 and fitted with a 3.8 engine. It has a four speed Moss gearbox with overdrive, making it both sporty and an excellent long distance tourer.
The car is as shown in Carmen red with a tan leather interior and enough woodwork to furnish the average dining room or gentlemen's club.
Within four days of buying the car, we exhibited it at the Midlands Jaguar Day and it won 2nd prize in the 'Pride of Ownership Class' of the Concours competition.
It is a full four door, four seater car and despite being over 40 years old can still keep pace with modern traffic and is an excellent drive.
Although it was built before seat belts were fitted as standard, we have fitted inertia reel seat belts both front and rear to keep you safe in your seats. It is also fitted with modern radial tyres to keep it safely on the road.
Shortly after taking over the Daimler Company, Jaguar made a Daimler version on the Mk2 using the same body and very similar interior, but swapping the engine for the Daimler V8 2.5 litre engine. This engine is less powerful than the 3.4 or 3.8 litre Jaguar XK engines but more powerful and much smoother than the 2.4 litre version. Most of the Daimler V8s were fitted with automatic gearboxes and power steering, being the luxury end of the product range. These cars are rarer than the Jaguars but are generally regarded as being inferior and therefore are cheaper to buy than a Mk2, but being automatic and having power steering, tend to be easier to drive.
In a TV News poll published on 27 July 2004, the Jaguar MkII beat all of James Bond's Aston Martins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Italian Job's Mini Coopers in a poll to mark the launch of the Post Office's new motor insurance.
When deciding which car they would prefer to drive, people over 50 picked Inspector Morse's Jaguar MkII, while those in their 20s went for the faster Aston Martin V12 from Bond film Die Another Day.
So whether you fancy playing the part of a 1960s villain, or Inspector Morse, you will be both comfortable and safe.
One of the latest 'fashionable' controls on modern cars is a separate start button. The justification is that now, instead of a key the car can be unlocked using a key card which can stay in your pocket. So the electrics all come on as soon as you sit in the car and you just press Start. Isn't this a truly wonderful innovation?
Not when you consider that our 1961 Mark II Jaguar has a Start Button. OK it doesn't have the electronics to read a key card in your pocket but a Start Button is nothing new. So if you want one of the latest gizmos then hire our Mark II and just press Start.
For daily, weekend and weekly hire rates for our Jaguar Mark II, see the section on Hire Charges.
