Meet the Owner - David Sefton and his Jaguar Mk X

David Sefton says: “The Mk X feels quick, planted to the road and makes for a smooth ride over what are my local and incredibly knobbly and potholed ridden roads (very much representative of the UK’s roads as a whole). The smoothness of the ride is so much so that it puts to shame many modern cars which let you know whenever you have driven over an imperfection on the road”.

David came by his Opalescent Silver Grey 1965 Mk X at the end of 2020 and it would be accurate to describe the Jaguar as fairly awe inspiring, It is an utterly striking looking machine, one that is nearly 6ft 5” wide, while the reverse angle nose with its quad headlamps appears extremely imposing or even menacing.

When Jaguar unveiled their heir to the Mk IX on the 12 October 1961 it caused as much as a sensation as the E Type seven months earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axm5J7H5mIc. The Mk X featured the largest unitary bodywork on a British car, a sophisticated independent rear suspension system, a ‘Thornton Powr-Lok’ limited-slip differential and a 3.8-litre six-cylinder DHOC triple carburettor engine.

And for your £2,392 18s 1d, you gained a motor car capable of 120 mph with remarkable handling and road manners. In addition, most owners opted for Borg Warner automatic transmission in place of the standard Moss four-speed manual gearbox to enhance the Jaguar’s abilities as an M1 cruiser. Autocar referred to it as “one of the proudest products of the British motor industry”. Across the Atlantic, Road & Track noted that “no other car of the size and type gives a better combination of comfort, handling and silence”.

The Mk X’s specification included PAS, an adjustable steering column, twin fuel tanks, a vast array of instruments, hide upholstery, and, of course, rear picnic tables. The last-mentioned fitting also incorporated vanity mirrors.

To maintain their flagship saloon’s profile in their vital US export market, Jaguar fitted the Mk X with 4.2-litre straight-six unit in late 1964. The manual gearbox option was now an in-house designed all-synchromesh transmission, while the PAS was now via Marles Varamatic rather than Burman. “From practically every point of view it is a car which calls for superlatives in its assessment”, raved Autocar.

1966 saw the Mk X face lifted as the ‘420G’ with a modified grille and fascia and a chrome side stripe. Production continued until 1970, and ten years ago, the Telegraph thought the mighty Jaguar represented “a link to a lost world of chorus girls, black market gin and looking out for a police Wolseley in the rear-view mirror”.

As for the Sefton Mk X, it departed the factory on the 24 September 1965 and was sold by Bracknell Motors. It is the rarest member of the family, with Browns Lane making just 5,680 4.2-litre versions, and today it frequently causes a minor sensation. David notes “very few people ever having seen one in all its glory”.

Sixty years ago, the launch advertisement claims that here was “new grace…new space…new pace” encapsulated the Mk X’s virtues. It was transport for company directors, film stars such as Laurence Harvey and, had Jaguar been more PR conscious, Roger Moore in The Saint. “A special kind of motoring which no other car in the world can offer” stated the brochure. It was right.

With thanks to: David Sefton, www.seftons.co.uk.