Amongst Jaguar’s post-war models, the 420 is perhaps the least known. Hardly surprising, really, as it was only on the market for two years and overshadowed by the Mark II, E-Type and even the Mark X/420G when new. Obscure as it was, the 420 was an important model for Jaguar, serving as a “proof of concept” for the XJ6 that would arrive in 1968 and go on to be one of the carmaker’s most successful models.
You can trace the story of the 420 all the way back to the 2.4 saloon – retrospectively referred to as the Mark I - from 1955, which was Jaguar’s first post-war compact saloon.
As most Jaguar aficionados would know, the Mark I led to the Mark II in 1959, with the S-Type arriving in 1963 as a third evolution of the concept.
The 420, released in late-1966, took parts from all these predecessors, but added elements
