AUTO HISTORY
Bill Vance takes a look at Jaguar Compacts
The term compact car was coined by American Motors in the 1950s and further popularized in 1960 when General Motors, Ford and Chrysler introduced their smaller Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair and Chrysler (soon to be Plymouth) Valiant. It referred to a car approximately 4,572 mm (180 in.) long with a wheelbase in the 2,540 to 2,794 mm (100 to 110 in.) range.
Jaguar Cars Ltd., of Coventry, England anticipated the Big Three by four years when it introduced its compact 1956 Jaguar 2.4 sedan. With a wheelbase of 2,728 mm (107.4 in.) and length of 4,597 mm (181 in.) it fit the category perfectly. It was a direct descendent of the 1949 Jaguar XK120 roadster that stunned the world with its 193 km/h (120 mph) speed and 160 horsepower double overhead camshaft inline six that helped popularize twin-cam engines.
Jaguar now offered two cars at the luxury end of the market: the high performance XK roadster and the full size Mark VII sedan. Filling the gap between them was the role of their new compact. It would bring Jaguar into a more affordable price range.
The new smaller Jaguar 2.4 sedan was a lovely car. Unmistakably Jaguar in appearance, it had all the exterior Jaguar luxury and styling cues while inside were leather seats and walnut dash and trim. It was also ahead of its stable mates in one important technical aspect: it had a modern unit body/chassis rather than Jaguar’s traditional body-on-frame.
For its first unit construction car Jaguar decided to go to an outside supplier for the body shell. It chose Pressed Steel Co. based in nearby Cowley. It was already building Mark VII sedan bodies so Jaguar was familiar with its work. A small benefit of the unitary body was that it produced a car 23 kg (50 lb) lighter.
But as appealing as the “baby” Jaguar was, it soon became apparent there was a problem. Tests revealed it lacked the expected Jaguar performance, a serious shortcoming, especially for the North American market on which Jaguar depended so heavily.
The 2.4’s engine was created by destroking the famous XK six by 29 mm (1.16 in.) thereby reducing displacement from 3.4 to 2.4 litres (2,483 cc) and horsepower from 160 to 112. It would still make the magic “ton” (100 mph/ 161 km/h), but barely. Road & Track (8/56) recorded 163 km/h (101 mph).
Jaguar quickly realised that to make the 2.4 more attractive it needed better performance so in the spring of 1957 it introduced the 3.4 model. It was similar in appearance to the 2.4 except for a wider grille for increased airflow and cut out rear fenders replacing the 2.4’s full skirts. Four-wheel disc brakes became optional on 2.4 and 3.4.
Under the hood the six was restored to its full 3.4 litres and 210 horsepower to provide the expected performance. Road & Track (6/57) recorded zero to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 10.4 seconds, up from the 2.4’s 13.1. They estimated top speed at a very respectable 193 km/h (120 mph). And the larger engine could easily handle an automatic transmission, an important North American market consideration.
Production of the 2.4 and 3.4 continued until 1959 when they were succeeded by the derivative Mark II which brought an important chassis change: Its rear track was widened 82.5 mm (3.25 in.) to 1,356 mm (53.4 in.). Bringing it close to the front track and correcting what was seen as both an aesthetic and technical deficiency in the 2.4/3.4.
The Mark II also got a larger 3.8 litre engine for even higher performance than the 3.4. Road & Track (8/60) reported zero to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 9.2 seconds and top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph).
The introduction of the new large 1962 Jaguar Mark X
sedan to replace the aging Mark VII/VIII/IX pointed up that the chassis of the compact Jaguar was becoming obsolete. The Mark X had sophisticated independent rear suspension with inboard disc brakes for better stopping and handling than its solid axle predecessors.
Jaguar’s answer was the 1963 S-Type, an evolution of the 2.4/3.4/Mark II. It got the Mark X’s independent rear suspension, in the process gaining more than 136 kg (300 lb) and giving it less performance than the 3.8 litre Mark II.
The compact Jaguar, which evolved into slightly revised modes designated as 240 and 340, and 420 when fitted with the 4.2 litre version of the six, would continue until 1968. The arrival of the stunning new smaller but still roomy 1968 Jaguar XJ6 as the big Mark X’s replacement effectively bridged the full size and compact market segments, making the compact Jaguar redundant.
Those compact Jaguars are still fondly remembered, with some models like the Mark II 3.8 particularly sought after.