JAGUAR MARK 1 AND 2 A Celebration of Jaguar’s Classic Sporting Saloons

Originally published by Haynes in 2005, now reprinted by Veloce. If you don’t have it, read on, because it is an excellent addition to any Jaguar library and presents a very good case for reprinting certain out-of-print titles. The Marks 1 and 2 epitomised Jaguar’s 1950s/1960s values of stylish, good-performing cars at modest prices. Thorley’s book starts with the cars design and development (there are wonderful photos of an early mock-up body propped up on blocks of wood) and runs right through to the final 240s and Daimler V8 250s in 1969. Along the way, many thousands of the various models were sold; they were raced and rallied with great success (a couple of New Zealand photos are included), their engines and breaking improved, and the road test were enormously enthusiastic for many years. This is a delightful book, with hundreds of photos, period adverts, some fascinating comparisons with competitors models, and it is full of fascinating details such as the non-smoking William Lyons initial intention not to fit any ashtrays to the first 2.4 saloons! Highly recommended.