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Super Power
Jaguar defined the compact luxury performance
saloon in 1955, then spent the next decade making it better.
More than 40 years later specialists are still improving the
Mk2. Is this the ultimate?
Words: Phil Beil
Photography: Malcolm Griffiths
News release from classiccars (July 2001)
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| When
I met Car Point's Andreas Freund at the Techno Classica
Essen show earlier this year he was buzzing with excitement.
He'd had the chance to try out the latest Mk2 Jaguar that
his company had built for a German customer. Says Andreas:
'I had it up to 250km/h on the autobahn, but it wanders
about at that speed - I don't think the aerodynamics were
designed for such speeds.' Nobody would dispute that the
Jaguar Mk2 was one of the performance icons of it's generation,
but surely a cruising speed of nearly 155mph is just bar
room fantasv. I mean, look at it. From the outside it
looks like any otner well-restored Mk2, with just some
discreet cooling louvres let into the bonnet, opened-out
rear wheelarches and a slightly nose-down stance to give
it that tweaked-in-the-Sixties look. Delve deeper and
you discover why Andreas wasn't exaggerating after all.
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Exterior
modifications are subtle; modern ZR-rated 2l5/55x16 tyres,
Iarger rear wheelarches oil cooler hidden under front
bumper and Iouvres in bonnet
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| Peer
through those bonnet louvres and you won't see the familiar
polished cam covers of the classic straight-six XK engine
glinting back at you. lnstead your eyes make out rough-cast
aluminium boxes bearing the legends 'supercharged' and
'V8' through the gloom. Open the tiny bonnet tor confirmation
and blink. lf lt looks familiar, vou must have bad a nosey
under the bonner ot a Jaguar XKR recently. lt's all there;
32 valves, eight cylinders, four litres, four camshafts,
two intercoolers and one supercharger. |
 |
You're
in for a dose of conflicting messages. Your eyes are saying
Mk2, your ears Xk; it's a surreal experience. |
And
before you ask, that little lot adds up to 370bhp and
387lb ft of torque. Of course, Mk2S with engines from
later Jaguars are nothing new - 4.2-litre XJ6s. 4.o-litre
XJ4OS and even V12 XJSs have all been plundered to give
the ciassic saloon more modern power and refinement -
but none represent such a technical achievement as this.
Looking at the engine bay is misleading. The XKR motor
looks as if it belongs in there, it's such a neat installation.
Nottinghamshire-based restorer Keith Taylor is the man
responsible for making Andreas dreams a reality. Says
Keith: 'Getting the engine in is the easy bit. but making
t work took weeks and weeks. Andreas says to customers
"Yes of course we can do it, we can do anything",
then it's down to us to make it happen.' The look on Keith's
face hints at what he must have been through to make it
happen. The project started with a Mk2 3.8 from Keith's
stock of donor cars and a rolled left-hand drive XKR.
Keith prefers rough but previously untouched examples
as donor cars: 'We end up replacing everything anyway,
so there's no point in starting with a better car.' The
first problem Keith had to overcome was physicaliy fitting
the V8 into a bay designed for a straight six. 'We had
to modify the engine bay to get it in, and even then we
had to fit the bare engine then add all of the ancillaries
afterwards.' He admits that this will make future engine
removal more complicated, but a modern design like the
AJ-V8 should go for two or three times the mileage of
the original XK straight six between rebuilds. After accommodating
the basic engine, Keith's next headache was trying to
find a home for all of the bulky ancillaries. His voice
has that can't-believe-we-really-did-it tone when he recalls
trying to make the cooling work: 'A Mk2 Jaguar has two
radiators, one to keep the engine cool, and another to
heat the cabin. An XKR has five: one each to look after
the engine, supercharger, engine oil, gearbox oil and
air conditioning system.' The next time you see a Mk2
with its bonnet open, have a look at the scant spare room
inside and then you'll appreciate the problem. As if the
job wasn't difficult enough, Keith discovered that t the
five-speed automatic gearbox has to be at the correct
temperature to function properly. 'I first road-tested
the car last summer, and the temperature was rock solid.
And that was before we fitted the bonnet louvres - the
customer asked for those later because he liked the look
of them.'
Tvpical of the current breed of improved classics, the
Car Point XKR Mk2 had to be modernised throughout to create
a complete result. Nineties performance with Fifties handling
and brakes wasn't an option. lt made sense to use as much
as possible from the XKR donor, bin this wasn't possible
with the brakes and suspension. At the rear, the original
leaf-sprung live axle has been replaced with the independent
rear suspension complete with inboard disc brakes from
a Series III XJ6. Steering is by XJS rack-and-pinion in
place of the original Burman recirculating ball arrangement
that was criticised when the cars were new. |
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Next
installation of XKR engine belies the effort that went
into fitting it - and all of its modern ancillaries -
into Mk2 engine ba |
| Many of
the mechanical changes had been developed on previous
conversions, but integrating the XKR electronics proved
the biggest source of sleepless nights. Keith needed to
incorporate the XKR computer in order to manage the engine's
ignition and fueling, but unlike cars of the Eighties,
in which an electronic control unit tended to be dedicated
to engine functions alone, the XKR brain watches over
and controls every system on the car in Orwellian fashion.
As he soon discovered, nothing, from the automatic gearbox
to the electronic windows, could be considered in isolation.
And like a punch line to a sick joke, there was the XKR
security system that would not allow the engine to run
if any of the major, or some of the minor, components
from the original car weren't there or connected up. Brilliant
for protecting XKRs being stolen for their parts, a nightmare
for Keith Taylor. Remembers Keith: 'For a long time we
seemed to be taking one step forward and three step back.'
For example, Keith fitted a Powr-Lok ditterential from
a V12 to make the car more relaxed at high speed, but
the altered ratio confused the gearbox into changing up
at the wrong engine revs, causing the computer to slip
into limp-home mode. Says Keith: At times, it seemed as
if the project would never move on, but with each new
day our understanding improved.' |
Interior is a clever blend of Mk2 tradition
and XKR technology. Steering column and seats are power
adjustable. Gearbox is five-speed auto with manual mode
as in XK8.
Radical as this XKS MKs might seem,
it could be consideres the obvious next step in as quest
for better performance.
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| Slip into
die cabin and you'Il find a blend of Mk2, XJ6 and inevitably
XKR fittings reflecting the requirements of the customer,
and that Big Brother-like computer. The overall ambience
is still Mk2, with die familiar wooden dash layout and
upright driving position, but the bits you interface with
- power adjustable seats and steering column that remember
your favourite position, gauges, switches, CD player and
even satellite navigation - are XKR. The mix of old and
new feels odd at first, your brain isn't sure whether
to approach this as a classic or a modern car, but you
settle into the improved comfort and convenience immediately.Your
ears are next in line for a dose of conflicting messages.
At idle, the merest of softly rhythmic throbbing overlaid
with the whirr of fuel pumps tells you the V8 is alive.
Squeeze the throttle and a hint of deep rumble stirs into
the mix as the car slips calmly up to urban speed. Your
eyes are saying Mk2, your ears XK8. lt's a surreal experience.
Break free of town, kick the throttle and as the Daimler-Benz
auto slips down a ratio, the Jaguar's refined accent also
stips to reveal a hardened thunderous snarl. lt's more
aggressive than any XK8 l've heard thanks to a less smothering
exhaust layout on this car. The sound effects may have
a delicious raw edge under provocation, but the car's
dynamics remain composed. Stream train torque from the
Eaton M12 supercharger hurls the Mk2 from cruise to overtaking
blast with one seamless push. Even in normally aspirated
form, Jaguar project engineer Martin Joyce's V8 raised
the class standards for its impressive output for its
size and weight. In a refined luxury coupé like
die XK8, it offred an indulgent blend of smooth power.
Fitting a supercharger was like adding brandy to cream.
The thought of all of this extra urge in a standard Mk2
Jaguar would be terrifying. The original was considered
to have good handling and brakes - for the Fifties - but
in 220bhp, 3.8-litre form it could be quite a handful.
Thankfully, the beast is properly tamed in the Car Point
Mk2. Where the original Burman recirculating ball steering
box managed to be heavy, vague and slow witted, the rack-and-pinion
demands little effort but offers reassuring feel and sharp
responses. The change to all-independent suspension makes
the ride more sophisticated and more controlled. lt adds
up to better straight-line stability, and the ability
to change direction without feeling you're trying to redirect
a charging rhino. Pressing hard through the twists in
a standard Mk2 demands skill and bravado, especially in
the wet. In this one, thoughtful throttle and steering
inputs are enough. As you learn to trust its responses
you begin to enjoy taking the kind of liberties that would
normally have the car turning round and biting you. Flick
left-right-left as you straight-line a roundabout, complete
with several camber changes, and the Jaguar does as it's
asked. If you do find yourself hurtling towards a corner
with too much speed - and it's easy to do in this car
- the XJ6 brakes have the ability to carve off any excess
without destabilising the car. Only the growing sound
of the wind being snagged by various screen rubbers and
bits of chrome trim outside compromises the car's ability
as an express executive saloon; that and its tendency
to feel a little light at 250km/h of course. Im sure that
there are devotees of originality out there who will be
horrified at the desecration of a car that so many worship.
They will accuse this transformation of taking away some
of the essential Mk2 essence, stripping it of character.
Certainly the looks, sound and even smell ofthe 3.8-litre
XK engine, not to mention its prodigious power and torque,
were all essential ingredients that helped elevate the
Mk2 Jag to icon status. But although the German owner
ofthis car loved the ciassic looks and everything the
Mk2 stands for, he wanted a car he could happily use in
real-world conditions on the autobahn. Radical as this
XKR Mk2 might seem at first, it could be considered the
obvious next step in a quest for better performance, handling
and brakes that started as soon as the original 2.4-litre
Mk1 was launched in 1955. The basic package of compact
monocoque saloonpredictable handling and a twin-cam, six-cylinder
engine had obvious potential to motorists, specialist
tuners and racers alike. |
| JAGUAR MK2 XKR |
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| Engine |
3996cc, V8, four
overhead camshafts, 32 valve, fuel injection, Eaton
M12 supercharger, two intercoolers |
| Power and torque |
37Obhp @ 6l5Orpm
3871b ft @ 3600rpm |
| Transmission |
Five-speed automatic,
limited slip differential, traction control |
| Brakes |
Servo-assisted discs
front and rear, with ABS |
| Suspension |
Front: independent,
double wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic
dampers. Rear: independent, lower
wishbone, upper driveshaft link, radius arms, twin
coll spring over telescopic damper units
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| Weight |
3362lb (1525kg) est |
| Performance |
Top speed: 1 55mph
O-60mph: 5.2 sec (est) |
| Cost new |
£1556 (1963) |
| Value |
POA |
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| Jaguar
soon built its own hot rods, first with 3.4-litre and
then 3.8-litre engines while offering all-round disc brakes
from l957 and altering the rear track and front wishbone
angles to improve handling with the Mk2 bodyshell in l959.
Of course, Jaguar beat Car Point to the idea of fitting
a V8 engine to the Mk2 by nearly 40 years when it dropped
in the Edward Turner-designed 2.5-litre V8 from the Daimler
SP250 sports car. The result was more about refinement
than performance. lt's a pity the 4.5-litre version from
the Majestic Major didn't fit. Spend some time driving
the Car Point Mk2 and you could all too easily take its
capabilities for granted. Despite awe-inspiring figures
like 370bhp and 387lb ft, this is no wild bot rod conversion.
lt delivers its performance in such a civilised and well-contained
package, free from the rough edges of similarly fast cars
of the period, that it's much less of an adrenaline pill
than it sounds on paper. But then that's the whole idea. |
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Thanks
to:
Keith Taylor of Souttiward Garage (01777 702841);
Andreas Freund of CarPoint |
|
• Hohleichweg 16 • Germany-76189
Karlsruhe
Telephone : (+49) 7 21/ 98 21 20 • Telefax: (+49) 7 21/ 9 82 12
26 • info@carpoint.de
Distributor in Great Britain:
Southward Garage • Mr. Keith Taylor • West Carr
Road, Industrial Estate • Retford Nottinghamshire •
GB DN22 7SN•
Telephone : (+44) 1777 702 841 • Telefax:(+44) 1777 702
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