1967 Jaguar 420 4 speed Manual with Overdrive – very rare car in excellent condition & what a drive!

The lesser spotted Jaguar 420 is a rare sight on the roads and, not surprising given Jag’s slightly confusing model range in the ‘60s, it’s often misunderstood or just simply unknown.

Allow me to clear that up….it started fairly simply in the ‘50’s with one sportscar and one saloon – the XK 150 & the Mk 1; followed closely by the MK 2. The massive MK X was introduced in ’61 followed by the E-Type, both sporting the 3.8 engine, and just 2 years later in 1963 the S-Type arrived, which just didn’t achieve the great success they’d hoped for. In 1966 the MK X saw an upgrade to the 4.2 engine and was re-named the ‘420G’; with the MK 2 still in production Jaguar now offered quite the range of motor cars, but with the S-Type sales disappointing and a couple of years before the XJ6 would arrive and essentially replace the whole range, they had 18 months to fill. Jag had one more trick up its sleeve…the very pretty and devilishly sporty 420. It was the quickest, best handling, best braking & most powerful of all Jaguars ‘compact sporting saloons’ and I think it’s the one to have…if you can find one.

Now here is the really interesting part; they only made circa 10,000 across the 2 short years of production and compared with circa 122,000 MK1 & MK2’s produced they were rare from the off, with just 33 cars currently on the road from 1967 they still arguably Jaguar’s best kept secret.

This rare car presents particularly well, finished in Opalescent Maroon with Biege leather interior; the bodywork, paint, brightwork/chrome, interior, engine bay, boot & undercarriage are in super condition with very little signs of wear for its 57 years. What stands out for us is the way it drives; steering is tight and direct, clutch and gearbox are super smooth, throttle is responsive, brakes are sharp & my word it shifts! The 4.2 litre engine mated to the excellent 4-speed manual gearbox with overdrive gives a fantastic driving experience; with the same torque as its stablemate the E-Type, its no wonder the Police couldn’t catch these.

As well as being a really good & useable example it also benefits from having a wonderful file; evidencing the, unusually low, 5 former keepers with V5’s and logbooks going back to day 1 – it has even retained the original green Registration Book.
It comes with a comprehensive collection of invoices from marque specialists detailing works carried out to date, with circa £17,000 spent with the same owner between 2016 and 2021 and it has had everything attended to including engine rebuild, SU Carbs, cam, brakes, Stainless Steel exhaust, electric choke and much more, it runs & drives beautifully with no overheating issues and always holding the correct pressure.

A very sharp example, on the button and ready to go, whether you want a car for high days & holidays, a regular runner or a classic car for long continental drives…this one ticks all the boxes.

Please call 07851 694637 to discuss.