Vehicle Story
So, which one is this, exactly? You may well ask because Jaguar’s model range became somewhat confusing by the late 1960s.
Ten years earlier, it was simple – they made a sports car (the XK 150) and a saloon (the Mk 1, shortly to become Inspector Morse’s Mk 2). Then, in 1961, they added the gigantic Mark X with its handsome four-headlamp nose and long, sweeping tail, which used the 3.8-litre version of the XK engine from the new E-type that replaced the XK 150.
The range grew a fourth member in 1963 when the S-type arrived, offering the independent rear suspension from the Mk X in narrower form and sharing the Mk 2’s cabin and engine bay but with its own new styling front & rear. By 1966 the Mk X had gained a 4.2-litre engine and been renamed the 420G, and the Mk 2 was still in production.
But the S-type was never a strong seller, so a fifth car joined the line-up in 1966. To offer punters something with a bit more power, more modern styling and more luxury, Jaguar modified the S-type’s nose to resemble the 420G and gave it the 4.2-litre engine. Presto: the 420, also known in fluted-radiator form as the Daimler Sovereign.
The 420, as offered here, is the last step before the XJ6 arrived in late 1968 and replaced the whole range. The 420 was the most powerful and sophisticated of the classic compact sporting Jaguar saloons with the best brakes and best-appointed interior. Yet its values have lagged behind those of the Mk 2 and even the S-type, which can only be down to something of an identity crisis based on confusion with the 420G.
Those who’ve worked out what it offers recognise it as a bargain.