1959 Jaguar Mk 2
Jaguar prospered strongly in 1959. So much concentrated success is rare. Five times one has won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the last 10 years.The chief engineer William Heynes had just received an
award from the British engineering company. The company director has received his personal knighthood in 1956.
By the time the Mark 2 appeared, certainly had started already preparations for Jaguars most spectacular project, the Jaguar E-Type from 1961. So great the changes were not between Mark 1 and 2, but still
clearly recognizable. Just have a look at the two images above and the greatly enlarged window areas in combination with all around slimmer roof pillars.
At that time the Mark 2 was probably the fastest saloon on the market. A Mercedes 300 SE from 1961 had to be content with 118 kW (160 DIN HP). In addition, the Mark 2 had now disk brakes all round with
negative pressure brake booster. The size of the luggage compartment had remained the same. Only the rear lights were significantly larger and more representative. The New had fog lamps front instead of
round decorative grids and position lamps on the mudguards.
Furthermore fascinatingly: The interior. Speedometer and rev counter have been displaced from the centre behind the steering wheel. This had the disadvantage of more effort for the manufacturer when
changing between right and left steering. The black highlighted switches and instruments in the middle (ammeter, fuel gauge, oil pressure and coolant temperature), however, could remain. The part of the
dashboard was foldable, e.g. when defective lighting. Awkward, but then usual, the activation of the windscreen wipers was in the middle.
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