BRIEF ENCOUNTER

For those who don’t have an intimate knowledge of Melbourne, I should explain that Wattle Glen is an attractive outer suburb that’s famous for cockatoos, koalas and the occasional kangaroo. It is, however, also home to a magnificent Jaguar Mk2, a model that’s indelibly associated in Australia with the British television drama series, Inspector Morse. And so, despite the obvious differences between Morse’s maroon car – with its distinctive black vinyl roof – and this eye-catchingly bright red example, I hope you’ll forgive the odd cross-reference over the next few pages.

I happened to be in the Glen quite recently, refuelling my daily driver, when a rather striking Mk2 – in top-spec 3.8-litre guise – swept in beside me. I almost expected Morse to step out and begin performing his latest case-investigating duties, but instead I was greeted by a proud Jaguar owner who smiled broadly as I complimented him on the quality of his car, which simply gleamed from bumper to bumper. Admittedly, it diverged