Jaguar Mark X

The Jaguar Mark X (Mark Ten), later renamed the Jaguar 420G, is a large, luxury saloon car manufactured by British automaker Jaguar Cars between 1961 and 1970. It succeeded the Mark IX as the top of its range, but broke radically with its predecessors in both styling and technology.

From an industrial design viewpoint, the ponton-shaped MarkTen was a hallmark car for Jaguar by introducing the upright, often slightly forward leaning front fascia and grille, flanked by prominent quad round headlights. When Jaguar replaced its entire saloon range with a more compact single new model in the late 1960s, the resulting XJ6 of 1968 used the Mark Ten as a template. unprecedented for early 1960s British luxury cars. primarily aimed at the large, affluent U.S. market, the Mark X never achieved its sales targets. The rarest now is the Mark X with the 4.2 Ltr engine as only 5,137 were built and few are known to survive.

Body

left|thumb|Jaguar Mark X rear

In 1961, the Mark X introduced a new upright, and slightly forward-leaning nose design for Jaguar saloons, with four headlamps set into rounded front wings (derived from Daimler DK400), and a vaned grill. This front-end style reappeared on many of the manufacturer's successive saloons, up to and including the X-Type and third generation Jaguar XJ, both through 2009—thereby forging Jaguar saloons' look for almost half a century.

Instead of relying on body-on-frame construction, like its predecessors and most of its competitors, the Mark X received a unitary body-shell, codenamed "Zenith" during its development. Its floorpan remained in production in elongated form, long after Mark X production ended, forming the basis of the Daimler DS420 Limousine until 1992. But at the same time, the interior was Jaguar's last to feature abundant standard woodwork, including the dashboard, escutcheons, window trim, a pair of large bookmatched fold out rear picnic tables, and a front seat pull-out picnic table stowed beneath the instrument cluster.

Later, air conditioning and a sound-proof glass division between the front and rear seats were added as options. until the arrival in 1992 of the low-slung XJ220 sports car, the Mark X stood as one of the widest production Jaguars ever built. Asked in 1972 if he thought the Mark X had grown rather too large, Jaguar chairman William Lyons, agreed that it "definitely" had: he opined that the then recently introduced and notably more compact Jaguar XJ6 was, by contrast an "ideal size".

Mechanical

The Mark X was the first Jaguar saloon to feature independent rear suspension designed by William Heynes, who was Jaguar's Technical Director and Chief Engineer. It differed from earlier large Jaguar saloons in having 14" wheels instead of the more common 15". It used a wider-track version of Jaguar's IRS unit first seen on the E Type, which was subsequently used on Jaguar vehicles until X308 production ended in 2003. The front suspension used double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers.

Power initially came from the E-type's version of Jaguar's 3781 cc XK in-line six-cylinder engine designed by W Heynes, developing either or , depending on compression ratio. A 9:1 compression ratio was standard, but an alternative 8:1 compression ratio was available as an option. For the London Motor Show in October 1964 the enlarged 4,235 cc unit took over, although the 3.8-litre unit could still be specified until October 1965.

420G

left|thumb|1967 Jaguar 420G interior

250px|thumb|Jaguar 420G

For the London Motor Show in October 1966 the Mark X was renamed the Jaguar 420G Aside from the shape of the rear part of the coachwork there was no link with Daimler cars made before Daimler became a subsidiary.

British Leyland's "Daimler DS420" was announced in June 1968.

Notes

References

External links

www.saloondata.com Volunteer register with records and photos of the Mk. X (among other Jaguar saloons)
Jaguar Mk X & 420G Saloon—GB Classic Cars (British classic car website)