The introduction by Jaguar Cars of a unitary construction 2.4 litre compact saloon back in 1955 saw a revolution in innovative construction techniques and was, in its day, just as much a shock to the system of the traditional Jaguar buyer, with his or her large saloon or sports car with a separate chassis, as the present X-Type is today.

But the important thing then as now was that to survive. Jaguar needed volume and a wider market, a fact of which William Lyons was acutely conscious. No one now questions that the Mk1/Mk2 range were very much Jaguars and worthy of the heritage!

Make no mistake, the 2.4 Mk1 was a very quick car. Only the extra power and speed of the 3.4 caused disc brakes to be introduced and led in 1959 to the introduction of the Mk2 with a line up of 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre models. The range was augmented by the Daimler V8 2.5 and was finally drawn to a close with the 240, 340 and Daimler 250 models, not to mention the rare 340/3.8s. A hugely significant model range, the earnings from which made it possible for Jaguar Cars to survive in an increasingly competitive world and left us a wonderful heritage to enjoy and treasure.