The Mark II

This vehicle began its life as a Mark II 340. By 1967, the 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre Mark IIs had been in production for eight years and Jaguar decided that a facelift was needed. The decision was taken to drop the 3.8 litre car (a handful were made to special order) and to rebadge the 2.4 and 3.4 as the 240 and 340 respectively, in line with the fashion of the period.

The 240s and 340s were the last incarnation of the Mark II and were produced between 1968 and 1969. In many ways the cars were an improvement on their predecessors, the 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre Mk. IIs.

With the benefit of years of experience, Jaguar revised the engine to improve performance. The 240's 0-60 mph time was reduced from the 17.3 seconds of its predecessor, the 2.4 Mk. II, to a much more respectable 12.5 seconds. In turn, the 340's 0-60 mph time was reduced to 8.8 seconds, making it 3.1 seconds faster than the older 3.4 Mk II and just 0.3 seconds slower than the 3.8, putting it firmly in the 'very very cool, good car for robbing banks in' category.

The launch of the XJ6 in 1968 at last enabled Jaguar to rationalize a model range which, if Daimler models are counted as well, was bewilderingly complex by that stage. Although the 240 and the Daimler equivalent of the Mk II, the V8 250, soldiered on on dealer forecourts until 1970, the 340 saw barely a year of production and only about 2,800 examples were ever built. Natural wastage since then has made a good Mk II 340 a rare species and we are delighted to have found a very good example.

Our car dates from 1968 and has been lovingly restored to meet the highest standards.