Description
From a design point of view, with a more modern appearance but also a fuselage shape, the Mark Ten was a landmark car for Jaguar as it introduced the vertical, often slightly forward-sloping front end and grille, fitted with prominent quadruple round headlamps. When Jaguar replaced its entire saloon range with a single new model in the late 1960s, the resulting 1968 XJ6 used the Mark Ten as a template, albeit a scaled-down one. The similar grille and round quad headlights defined most Jaguar saloons for almost half a century, until 2009 - the final year of the 3rd generation XJ series and the Jaguar X-Type. What's more, Jaguar didn't build another car as large as the Mark Ten and 420G until the end of the century, until the LWB version of the 2003 Jaguar XJ. Introduced a year after Jaguar's iconic E-Type sports car, the Mark X impressed by copying much of the technology, innovation and specification of the E-Type. Unlike its predecessors, the car was updated with an integrated unitary body - the largest in the UK at the time - as well as Jaguar's own four-wheel disc brakes and independent rear suspension, unheard of in British luxury cars of the early 1960s. The 3. 8-litre triple carburettor engine fitted to the E-Type gave Jaguar's flagship saloon a top speed of 193kph and safety at less than half the price of the contemporary Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Despite press praise on both sides of the Atlantic and Jaguar's hopes of attracting heads of state, diplomats and film stars, primarily targeting the vast and prosperous US market, the Mark X never achieved its sales targets. The rarest of these is the 4. 2-litre Mark X, of which only 5, 137 were built and few survive. The car we are presenting is on consignment for sale, has a 1968 number plate and an automatic transmission. It underwent a thorough restoration about two years ago which involved complete dismantling, including mechanical work, in-depth treatment and repair of small spots of surface corrosion, scraping and complete treatment of the bottom of the car, inside and out, total overhaul of the braking system, with all new components, engine and transmission overhauled, general check of the electrical system, new upholstery and carpets, fully treated and varnished wood, new windscreen and rear window rubbers, among other improvements justified at the time.
