On 26th of September 1968, Jaguar introduced a new model that Autocar lauded, saying: ‘There is absolutely no car on the market today that can approach it in any field at anywhere near the price, and certainly at the same price there are none that can offer so much automobile for the money.’ The chaps at Motor were similarly bowled over, saying: ‘As it stands at the moment, dynamically, it has no equal regardless of price, which explains those 12-months delivery quotes from dealers and black-market prices £1000 over list.’
Yet incredibly the XJ6 was not the European Car of The Year 1969, for that honour went to the Peugeot 504. Nor did the Jaguar achieve second or third place, those spots being occupied by the BMW 2500/2800 and the Alfa Romeo 1750 respectively. Nevertheless, this did not prevent Car from declaring the Jaguar its own Car of the Year and stating that it was ‘probably the best this nation can offer, and certainly among the best this nation has known in 75 years.’
Work on Project XJ4 began in 1963, the same year that Jaguar launched the S Type. By that time, Sir William Lyons and his team had realised that for all its many virtues, their flagship saloon, the MkX, was not going to be a major success in the USA, but that equally its dimensions were simply too large for most British drivers. What the market demanded on both sides of the Atlantic was a car with the attributes of the MkX, but on a smaller scale.
1966 saw Jaguar merge with the British Motor Corporation and Pressedcomplexity. There was the Mk2 in 2.4-litre, 3.4-litre and 3.8-litre forms, the 3.4 and 3.8 S Type, and the 420G (which was the latest incarnation of the MkX). There was also the 420, which blended the S-Type’s body with the 4.2-litre engine and quad-headlamp frontal treatment reminiscent of the MkX. In addition, there were two Daimler-badged hybrids – the 2.5 V8 which combined Mk2 coachwork with the renowned light-alloy Daimler V8 engine, and the new Sovereign which was for the motorist who craved a socially elevated 420. Just to make matters even more interesting, there were also the Majestic Major and the long-wheel-base DR450, the last of the traditional Daimlers.
