This line of switches is most imposing and each is neatly labelled in white lettering, but as International symbols are not used an Overseas Visitor might take time before playing the correct keys. The central panel carries the ammeter, fuel gauge, oil-pressure gauge and thermometer, with the lamps switch between these small dials, and, below them, flick switches controlling the interior lighting, panel lights (bright and dim), heater fan, change-over of the twin fuel tanks, wipers and screenwashers.

10, tachometer and speedometer are on the right, in front of the driver. Indeed, the facia layout and control arrangements bear some resemblance to those of this big V8 Daimler although, in the case of the Mk. This well-established and powerful twin overhead camshaft engine combines well with a Borg-Warner fully automatic transmission, and whether, like Ken Purdy, you root for such automation, or, like myself, prefer to select your own gears, it has to be admitted that this form of gearbox neither impairs the traditional Jaguar (very high) performance nor entirely spoils the skill of driving, for apart from the usual “P, N, D, L, R” selector lever, there is a flick-switch on the facia, convenient to the right hand, for instantly selecting intermediate gear hold, this being a feature of the Daimler Majestic Major but with the switch better-located on the Jaguar. 2 power unit, for the urge is derived not from this but from the E-type engine which develops a cool 250 b.h.p., or 265 b.h.p. These, together with a self-adjusting hand-brake, offer subtle improvements in performance, convenience and security. It has, in fact, many, and very significant, technical innovations over the older Jaguars, such as independent rear suspension and inboard disc brakes, as introduced for the E-type, Burman power-assisted steering, the Jaguar twin side-located fuel tanks, separate master cylinders and pipe-lines to front and rear braking systems, vacuum-control of heating and ventilatory arrangements, dual headlamps in a rather special Lucas combination. It is not merely a 3.8-litre endowed with a more commodious body shell. 10 there would be to do a very fine motor car a grave injustice. and business executive fast travel in terms of great comfort, but its bulk, weight and somewhat soft suspension has destroyed to some degree the predictability of handling of the slimmer-bodied car using the same twin o.h.c. 10-which is not to say that someone won’t try. I can say right away that for restful long-distance travel at very high speeds this biggest of the Jaguar range is as impressive and effective as one would expect a car watched over by Sir William Lyons’ team to be, and that it enhances the already all-but-mystical ability of this Coventry manufacturer to offer a quite outstanding return, in terms of comfort, equipment and very high-performance for a comparatively extremely modest outlay.įor sporting occasions, however, I would prefer to be 3.8 mounted a friend expressed this succinctly by remarking that no-one in his right mind would race a Mk. 10 after I had driven two different examples of the automatic gearbox saloon a total of nearly 600 miles in a relatively short space of time, during the month of May. This became possible in the case of the Mk.

Motor Sport likes to form its own conclusions and make its own comments, uninfluenced by the findings of other journals. However, the testers were unanimous that here was another Jaguar “winner,” a car well worth waiting for. Naturally the critics were avid to write about it but the first road-test reports did not appear until some twelve months later. It was fairly universally accepted as the Star Of the Exhibition, the “Lyon of Earls Court.” 10 as a new car at the 1961 London Motor Show. very spacious, fully-equipped luxury saloon in the best tradition of the famous make.įollowring value-for-money perfection in terms of the twin-cam 3.8-litre saloon which it seemed almost impossible to better, the famous Coventry Company brought out the more portly Mk. Sign-up now for access to a limited number of articles.

1963 jaguar markx