Footnotes

• Introduced in 1956, the Mark VIII was the penultimate version of Jaguar's flagship luxury saloon that had debuted as the Mark VII back in 1950. Work on Jaguar's advanced new saloon car had been interrupted by the war, and in 1948 elements of the proposed newcomer made their first appearance in other models: the twin-overhead-camshaft engine in the XK120 sports car and the independently-front-suspended chassis in the interim Mark V saloon. It was not until 1950 that the two were combined in the Mark VII. A considerable improvement on what had gone before, the cruciform-braced chassis featured torsion-bar independent front suspension and all-round hydraulic brakes. The 3.4-litre 'six' had already demonstrated its prowess in the XK120 and proved capable of propelling the Mark VII's not inconsiderable bulk past 100mph.
  
  In 1954 the revised Mark VIIM appeared, followed in 1956 by the Mark VIII. The latter boasted yet more power (210bhp) and torque, making for improved top-gear performance, the maximum speed of this two-ton leviathan increasing to 106mph. When production ceased in 1958, slightly more than 6,000 Mark VIIIs had been built.
  
  Only 158 survivors are known to the International Mark VIII Register
  'SLL 346' was purchased new by the vendor's late father and has remained in the family's possession ever since. It is believed that the Jaguar was purchased from Henlys of Camden Town, London. His father loved the unusual Cambridge Blue livery (many MkVIIIs were two-tone), and specified automatic transmission for the convenience of his wife, who was newly qualified to drive. However, he did not take to the auto 'box (his previous Jaguars had all been manual) and she found the car too big, with the result that the MKVIII was used mainly for special occasions. Stored in a dry garage since it was last run in the late 1960s, this remarkable car has covered a mere 2,020 miles from new. The vendor had intended to restore the Jaguar but lacks the space to carry out the work, hence the decision to sell.
  
  This amazing 'time warp' car exhibits all the features one would expect of a grand Jaguar saloon of the period - beautiful woodwork, switchgear, brightwork, tool trays, etc - and the fortunate new owner will be richly rewarded.

Saleroom notices

• Please note this is a Jaguar Mark VIIM and not a Mark VIII as catalogued. We are pleased to report that since the time of cataloguing the engine of this car has been made to run.