Motoring Memories

Motoring Memories: Jaguar Compact Cars

June 17, 2004

1961 Jaguar Mark II. Click image to enlarge

Story and photo by Bill Vance

The term compact car was popularized by Detroit in the early 1960s when GM, Ford and Chrysler introduced smaller cars, the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair and Chrysler Valiant, to compete with the increasingly popular imports. The term compact came to describe cars of approximately 4,572 mm (180 in.) in length, with a wheelbase in the 2,540 to 2,794 mm (100 to 110 in.) range.

Jaguar Cars Ltd., of Coventry, England, could have claimed that it beat the Big Three by four years when it introduced its compact 1956 Jaguar sedan. The new Jaguar 2.4 announced in September, 1955, with a wheelbase of 2,728 mm (107.4 in.), and an overall length of 4,597 mm (181 in.), fitted the compact category perfectly.

It was a direct descendent of the 1949 Jaguar XK120 that had stunned the world. The XK was a 193 km/h (120 mph) roadster with a double overhead camshaft six cylinder engine. Jaguar had brought twin-cam exotica to the popular field, and it was a sensation.

Jaguar’s co-founder William Lyons had originally intended the twin-cam as a sedan engine; the roadster was to be just a test bed, a surprisingly lucky one as it turned out. The intended Lyons Jaguar sedan, the Mark VII, arrived in 1951 powered by the new engine. It was a large, roomy high-speed machine, more than fulfilling its 161 km/h (100 mph) goal.

Jaguar now had cars at both ends of the luxury market: the high-performance XK roadster and the Mark VII sedan, but there was a gap in between, and it would be the role of the 2.4 to fill it.

When the new, smaller 2.4 sedan arrived it was immediately apparent, especially in the North American market which Jaguar depended upon heavily, that all was not as it should be; the car lacked the sporty performance expected of a Jaguar.

Destroking the famous XK engine by 29 mm (1.16 in.) had reduced the displacement from 3.4 to 2.4 litres (actually 2483 cc), and in the process had also reduced horsepower from 160 to 112. It would, like its larger Mark VII sibling, make the “ton” (100 mph), but barely. Road & Track (8/56) recorded a 163 km/h (101 mph) top speed.

The new “baby” Jaguar was ahead of its larger stablemates in one important area, however, in that it had a modern unit construction body/chassis.

Jaguar quickly recognized that to make the car more popular in North America it needed higher performance, so in the spring of 1957 it announced the 3.4. Its appearance was very similar to the 2.4, although it had a wider grille with more and thinner vertical bars, and cut-out rear fenders replacing the 2.4′s full skirts.

The significant change was under the hood. The 3.4 got the litres of engine displacement that the 2.4 had been denied. Now up to 210 horsepower, the big six provided the expected Jaguar performance.

Road & Track (6/57) recorded zero to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 10.4 seconds, improved from 13.1 for the 2.4. They also estimated its top speed at a very respectable 193 km/h (120 mph). The larger engine could also handle an automatic transmission, an important consideration for the North American market.

Production of the 2.4 and 3.4 continued until 1959 when they were superseded by the Mark II. An important chassis change was an increase of 82.5 mm (3.25 in.) in the rear track, bringing it much closer to the width of the front track, thereby correcting what was seen as both an aesthetic and technical deficiency in the 2.3/3.4.

The Mark II also got a larger 3.8 litre engine, which gave it even higher performance than the 3.4. Road & Track (8/60) now reported a zero to 96 km/h (60 mph) time of 9.2 seconds, and a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph).

The introduction of the new large 1962 Jaguar Mark X sedan to replace the aging Mark VII/VIII/IX design pointed up the obsolescent chassis of the commpact Jaguar. The Mark X had sophisticated independent rear suspension with inboard disc brakes, which gave it better handling than its solid-axle predecessors.

Jaguar’s answer, in order to keep a compact that was as advanced as its large model, was the 1963 S-type, an evolution of the 2.4/3.4/Mark II. It got the independent rear suspension of the Mark X, but it also gained more than 136 kg (300 lb) in weight, with the result that it didn’t have quite the performance of the 3.8 litre Mark II.

The compact Jaguar, which evolved into slightly revised models named 240 and 340, and even a 420 fitted with the 4.2 litre version of the six, would continue until 1968.

With the introduction of its stunning new smaller but still roomy XJ6 as the big Mark X’s replacement, Jaguar had effectively bridged the full-size and compact Jaguars, making the compacts redundant. Those compact Jaguars are still fondly remembered, however, with some models, particularly the Mark II 3.8, being sought after collectibles. The new 2000 S-type revived the compact Jaguar concept.