Jaguar Mark X

Jaguar Mark X & 420G
Jaguar Mark X
Overview
Manufacturer	Jaguar Cars
Production	1961–1970 3.8 Litre: 13,382 4.2 Litre: 5,137 420G: 5,763
Assembly	Coventry, England
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car (F)
Body style	4-door saloon
Layout	FR layout
Related	Daimler DS420
Powertrain
Engine	3781 cc XK I6 to 1964 4235 cc XK I6
Dimensions
Wheelbase	120 in (3,000 mm)[1]
Length	202 in (5,100 mm)
Width	76.3 in (1,940 mm)[2]
Height	54.5 in (1,380 mm)
Curb weight	4,200 lb (1,900 kg)
Chronology
Predecessor	Jaguar Mark IX
Successor	Jaguar XJ6

The Jaguar Mark X (Mark ten) was the top-of-the-range saloon car built by the British manufacturer Jaguar, primarily aimed at the United States market. The Mark X succeeded the Mark IX as the company's largest saloon model.

Body

1963 Jaguar Mark X

The unitary construction body-shell was codenamed "Zenith" during development and this floor pan continued in production long after Mark X production ended, as the DS 420 Limousine. The new style, four headlamps set into rounded front fenders with a vaned grill, first appeared on the Mark X. The interior was the last Jaguar with 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.^[3]

From its introduction until the arrival in 1992 of the low-slung XJ220, the Mark X stood as one of the widest production Jaguars ever built.^[4] 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".^[5]

The substantial doors required helical torsion springs inside the door pillars to enable them to be opened from the inside with an acceptably low level of effort.

Mechanical

The Mark X was the first Jaguar saloon to feature independent rear suspension. 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 XJ-S production ended in 1996. The front suspension used double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers. The car initially featured a 3781 cc version of Jaguar's XK in-line six-cylinder engine. A 9:1 compression ratio was standard, but an alternative 8:1 compression ratio was available as an option.^[3] 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.^[3] Triple SU carburettors were fitted, fed from an AC Delco air filter mounted ahead of the right hand front wheel.

Transmission options were manual, manual with overdrive, automatic, or automatic with overdrive. The arrival of the 4.2-litre power unit coincided with the introduction of a newly developed all-synchromesh four-speed gear box, replacing the venerable box inherited by the 3.8-litre Mark X from the Mark IX, which had featured synchromesh only on the top three ratios.^[3] Many domestic market cars and almost all cars destined for the important North American markets left the factory with a Borg Warner automatic gear-box. The 4.2-litre engine's introduction was also marked by a transmission upgrade for buyers of the automatic cars, who saw the Borg Warner transmission system switched from a DG to a Typ-8 unit.^[3] The power train was completed by a Thornton Powr-Lok limited-slip differential.

Stopping power for this heavy car came from power-assisted disc-brakes on all four wheels.^[3]

Power-assisted steering was standard, the later 4.2 cars receiving Marles Varamatic Bendix (Adwest) variable ratio steering boxes, designed by an Australian, Arthur Bishop.^[6]

420G

Jaguar 420G

Jaguar 420G

For the London Motor Show in October 1966 the Mark X was renamed the Jaguar 420G^[1] (not to be confused with the smaller Jaguar 420). The 420G was distinct from the Mark X only with the addition of a vertical central bar splitting the grille in two, side indicator repeaters on the front wings, and a chrome strip along the wing and door panels (two tone paint schemes were also available with the chrome strip omitted). Interior changes included perforations in the central sections of the leather seats, padded dashboard sections for safety, moving the clock to a central position, and the introduction of air conditioning as an option.

A "limousine" version was available, on the standard wheelbase, with a dividing glass screen partition and front bench seat replacing the separate seats of standard cars. The wheelbase was extended by 21", with the mechanical underpinnings of the car being subtly reconfigured, for the 1968 Daimler DS420. This car was built until 1992 and used by many countries in official capacities, and frequently by funeral homes; either with a saloon body for carrying mourners or a hearse body.

Despite running for the same length of time as the Mark X (five years) the 420G sold in less than a third of the numbers: this lack of popularity and the increasing production of the XJ6 resulted in the 420G being run out of production in 1970.

See also

• Jaguar 420—the Jaguar S-Type (available as 3.4 L or 3.8 L) was developed into the 4.2 L Jaguar 420 with its restyled nose in 1966, the same year the 4.2 L Mark X became the 420G.

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)