Description

1969 Jaguar 420G

The ultimate Swinging Sixties cad car; has spent its whole life in sunny Australia; 89,800 miles from new; engine overhauled 7,500 miles ago; highly original; air conditioning; dashboard to die for; big, brown and beautiful!

Even by Jaguar standards, 1961 was a very special year – but the E-Type wasn’t the only sensational new model to leave the Browns Lane factory. The imperious MkX saloon was an equally distinctive and desirable car with a character as big as its dimensions (16ft 10in long and 6ft 4in wide).

Effectively a four-door E-Type, it shared the sports car’s independent rear suspension (unheard of in a British saloon of the time) and had the same triple carb straight-six XK engine, initially 3.8 but enlarged to 4.2-litres from 1964 onwards. Both could push the big car to over 120mph, with 0 - 60 coming up in a little over 10 seconds in the manual versions.

A limited slip diff, disc brakes all round and power steering all helped to please even the most sporting driver. Blessed with a magic carpet ride and extraordinarily nimble handling, it put the rival Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud to shame and to add insult to injury, was only half the price.

From October 1966 it was renamed the 420G and gained a vertical central bar splitting the grille in two, side indicator repeaters on the front wings and a chrome strip along the wing and door panels. Interior changes included padded dashboard sections for safety, the moving of the clock to a more central position, and the introduction of air conditioning as an option.

The widest car made in Britain (although today’s F-Type is actually 4” wider!) the 420G could comfortably seat five adults and was gloriously roomy and well-appointed with acres of leather, great slabs of polished burr walnut and picnic tables front and rear. A car to revel in as much as to drive, its ability will surprise you.

As the Heritage Certificate confirms, this 420G left Browns Lane in August 1969 destined for Australia, being sold new via Bryson’s of Melbourne. Finished in Sable with a Beige hide interior, it had Borg Warner Type 8 transmission, a heated rear window, power steering and servo assisted brakes.

First registered as XKG 420 (how appropriate!) we are told that the first owner was a well-known Melbourne surgeon and it then had only three further owners, all in the state of Victoria, before our vendor acquired it about six years ago.

Although there is precious little history, we are told that it has been properly maintained throughout its life to keep it in first class order. The 89,782 mileage is said to be correct and we are further told that it has never been welded or restored apart the odd bit of paintwork to rectify sun damage.  

The vendor states that: “Recent expenditure has included an overhaul of the front suspension with new bushes, GAZ shock absorbers, ball joints, track rod ends etc. It also had a full brake system overhaul including stainless steel sleeved master cylinder and two new brake reservoirs. A new battery has been fitted along with a set of new Michelin tyres all round and the air con was regassed, tested and serviced in November 2018. It has been converted to an electronic distributor and an electric choke for reliability. The engine was completely overhauled by Franzone Jaguar in Perth approximately 7,500 miles ago and it recently had fresh oil and filter.

“It was dealer fitted with a Smiths air-conditioning unit in period which is incorporated into the central console. It has had new headlining, door panels and carpets fitted during its life in Australia, along with colour coded inertia reel seat belts front and rear. It remains in very original unrestored condition and retains the original factory issued tool kit. It drives just like it should and is surprisingly firm on the road, handling corners with ease.”

Imported back to the UK in 2020 and registered here as PFJ 960G, it was driven from Southampton to a storage unit in the Cotswolds where it remained until shortly before the auction. It comes with a copy of the V5C (we hope to have the original in time for the sale), an original hardcover service manual, a period sales brochure, a Jaguar Heritage Certificate and two sets of keys.

As you can see in the photos, it remains in generally good and original condition throughout, with just a few minor blemishes and some microblistering to the paintwork here and there. It has been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved it around on site, with excellent 55psi oil pressure.  

With bags of character and a dashboard to die for, this unusually well-preserved Jaguar is more than capable of holding its own in today’s traffic and the ride quality still puts moderns to shame! We like it a lot.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]