Produced from 1959-1967, the Mark II is in my opinion the finest looking saloon Jaguar ever made, and probably the best looking 4 door car ever. It just looks right, with fabulous curves and detailing, set off with centre hub wire wheels, and a classic Jaguar chrome grill. It replaced the similar looking Mark I saloon and was available in three engine sizes, a 2.4, 3.4 and a 3.8, all straight sixes. The 3.8 was a great performer, and was one of the fastest saloon cars of it's day. Hence, it was a firm favourite of the criminal classes in 60's Britain and to keep up the police acquired it's own pursuit or "flying squad" Mark II's. Several were used by the gang who carried out the "great train robbery" of the Royal Mail train on August 8th 1963, netting 2.5 million pounds. Mark II's were also used in many gangster British movies such as "Robbery" (which features a great chase involving a police S-Type Jag and a villains Mark II) and in "Get Carter", in which tough guy Michael Caine knocks the passenger front door off another gangsters red 3.8 with his Ford Cortina, much to the Jag owners annoyance!
Another movie role for this car was in the mid-80's cult British film "Withnail and I", starring Paul McGann and Richard E.Grant as penniless alcoholic actors in 1969 London. They decide to take a holiday in rural Wales and travel there in a beat up Mark II with only one headlight.
Jaguar made a larger saloon called the S-Type from 1963 to 1968, which was similar in looks to the Mark II. Jaguar's new 5 series competitor S-Type is named after this car and reintroduces a curvaceous look to the modern Jaguar range.
This model is made by Maisto and has 4 opening doors (which is unusual for a budget priced model). The interior and bodywork is reasonably detailed and overall it looks good. There is a leaping Jaguar mascot on the bonnet which is actually unusual on non-US versions of the car (this model is RHD). Most Mark II's exported to the USA were 3.8's with automatic transmissions.
The engine is poorly detailed as are the wheels and tires, so it gets an average 5/10 marks.
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