"Launched in 1955, the Mk. I extended Jaguar's domination of the high-performance car market in Britain, slotting neatly into the Coventry firm's range alongside the big Mk. VII M saloon and the XK140 sports car. The medium size newcomer broke new ground for Jaguar, being its first model to employ unitary construction of the chassis/body. Jaguar's engineers were understandably cautious in their approach, making the bodyshell stronger than in fact it needed to be and employing rubber mountings just about everywhere to insulate occupants from vibration and noise. The Mk. I was released with a new, short stroke, 2.4-litre version of the proven XK 'six', but demands for more power, especially from American customers, prompted the introduction of the 3.4-litre version early in 1957. With 190bhp on tap the 3.4-litre Mk. I was good for a top speed of 120mph and could reach 60mph in nine seconds, though if used to the full, this greatly improved performance severely taxed the drum brakes. All-round disc brakes were hurriedly announced as an option, becoming an almost universal fitting thereafter. The Mk. I was progressively updated throughout its life before a wholesale revision of the basic design saw it re-launched as the Mk. II in October 1959.
This lovely example is presented in Sherwood Green (repainted in 2016) with its original tan leather interior (re-Connollised), new door cards and carpets and comes with a Jaguar Heritage Trust Certificate confirming that it is a full matching numbers car which is all important. The car was the subject of a major professional ground up body restoration, approximately costing £20,000, with new inner and outer sills fitted in 2016. Its wonderful interior is complimented by its woodwork which typically shows off all that was luxurious with Jaguar motor cars and its smooth six-cylinder 3.4 litre engine is mated to an automatic gearbox. This car has been the subject of some considerable work over the last four years and with its colour coded spoke wheels matching its superb bodywork colour, this example really is one of the finest available. In 2016, the car had its disc brake system rebuilt, complete re-wire with new wiring loom. In 2020, the engine was rebuilt with all new bearings, rebuilt SU carburettors, fuel pump, piston rings, timing gear and oil pump. This wonderful example comes with its original Jaguar workshop manual and spares book is on its original UK registration."