Perhaps the most beautiful 4 door car ever made, the Jaguar Mark 2 could also be considered one of the first sports sedans. Sharing its basic engine design with the Jaguar sports cars in a mid-sized 4 door saloon made it the fastest production 4 door car in the world when it was introduced, while the graceful lines and comfortable interior made it stand out as a luxurious vehicle for significantly less money than its equivalent direct competitors at the time. The Jaguar Mk2 performed well enough that it became the preferred car in Britain, both for the police and bank robbers and cemented Jaguar’s place as a maker of family cars rather than just high end luxury and sports cars. This Jaguar Mark 2 was restored for the previous owner by Vintage Underground in Eugene, Oregon. Rather than being entirely focused on originality, however, the goal was to subtlely upgrade the car, preserving its appearance and character as much as possible, while improving the driving experience. Although the Jaguar Mark 2, in general, already drove and handled well, especially for a car of its era, improvements were carried out in the form of a 5 speed manual transmission, rack and pinion power steering, improved brakes, air conditioning, and heated seats. The entire exterior and interior were refinished to a concours condition, with as many of the changes subtly hidden in the car to keep its original appearance. The person who commissioned the restoration ended up with an incredibly fine automobile, but then hardly drove it, with little more than 400 miles added to the odometer in the years of his ownership. Timing when he decided to sell worked out perfectly for me as I had just started trying to track down a good Jaguar Mark 2, when I heard this car was coming on the market. Jaguar saloons of this era, for as nice a car as they are, are very expensive to restore completely and the work generally can’t be done for what the market supports as a price and it is rare to find one taken to this level. I paid a premium above the typical market rate, but still below what this car would cost to do over, but he end result is I have ended up with one of the nicest Jaguar Mark 2s in existence. As it’s a car I’ve always loved, it has and deserves a place of pride in my collection and is likely to never be sold on at any price.