This car is one of the last 3.8 litre Mark IIs to be built, in August 1967, a few weeks before production stopped, and is the 24^th right-hand drive car from the end of production. Finished in Opalescent Dark Green, the car was originally sold in Lancashire, and little is known about its history except that it was the subject of a 1,500 hour rebuild from a bare shell to concours standard before it was purchased for the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust in 1992. It was thought to have covered some 40,000 miles from new until restoration.

GHG 615F was loaned to the BBC to review on Top Gear and driven by Richard Hammond. It started with a brief glimpse of the 2001 R-Coupé from our Collection and then the Mark II sequence was played. One of his final comments was that for him it remains his ‘ultimate Jaguar.’

Made from 1959 to 1967, the Mark II saloon was the most successful Jaguar model until that time, with total production of 83,701 units of which the 3.8 litre version accounted for 27,848. The 3.8 litre engine developed 220 bhp, leading to a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h), and a 0 to 50 mph (80 km/h) time of 6.4 seconds. This was always considered the most desirable of the Mark II models, especially when fitted with wire wheels and the overdrive gearbox. With these extras, together with leather upholstery and metallic (‘Opalescent’) paint, the Mark II 3.8 litre cost £1,764 in 1967.

The Mark II had a successful competition history in International Touring Car racing, and in rallies. It was driven by Roy Salvadori and Duncan Hamilton amongst others, as well as by European drivers such as Bernard Consten and Peter Lindner. Always a favourite with Police forces, Mark IIs were often also driven by those on the wrong side of the law! A Mark II was memorably used as a getaway car in the Great Train Robbery in 1963.

In 1967, the Mark II models were replaced by the 240 and 340, which continued in production until 1969. These cars had only the two smaller engine sizes, and Ambla rather than leather interior trim, together with slimmer bumpers. Production of the 3.8 litre was however discontinued, except for a dozen or so of the 340 models which were fitted with 3.8 litre engines on special requests from customers.