Jagwah (pronounced jag-whar)
A slang term in western Africa; a colloquialism for a "smart man-about-town".
Early 1960s post-colonial Nigeria: A phoneticism based on the admiration locals felt for the large green and white Jaguars run by the newly-independent Nigerian Government on their executive car fleet. An example of aspirational association: a desired life-style expressed in a status-symbol; to this day in West Africa, Jagwah remains a colloquialism for "a smart man-about-town". Under British colonial rule since the early nineteenth century, Nigeria was granted independence in 1960 and within a few weeks the new government had bought 40 Jaguar Mark IXs, all painted in the Nigerian state colours of green and white. The big Jags, much admired by the local citizens, were ideal for African conditions, being robustly built and supplied with a low-compression engine suitable for the octane-rating of the petrol then available. The economics were also compelling with their price being less than half that of a visually similar Rolls-Royce or Bentley; despite that, the Mark IX looked appropriately presidential. Jagwah is a noun; the noun plural is jagwahs.
The big post-war Jaguars
Jaguar Mark IV, 1945-1949: Like many of the cars produced immediately after World War II (1939-1945), the design of the Jaguar range which came to be called Mark IV was essentially the same as that made in the pre-war years. However, visually similar though the cars may have been, ruefully the engineers would admit the quality in some ways didn't match the pre-war cars because there was a severe shortage of steel and, given the parlous state of the nation's finances, the new Labour government's (1945-1951) "export or die" mantra meant the highest quality steel was allocated to industries wholly focused on overseas sales which would yield desperately needed forex (foreign exchange). One low-cost change however was the adoption of the "Jaguar" name, the old "SS" brand retired. While the unsavoury association with the Nazi Party’s SS (Schutzstaffel (security section or squad)) is sometimes still cited as the reason, the conventional wisdom is that in 1945 (when passenger vehicle production resumed), the rationale for changing the corporate name from “SS Cars” to “Jaguar Cars Limited” was the stronger brand-identity of the latter rather than an aversion to anything associative with the Nazis. Jaguar’s pre-war use of SS was derived from the company’s origin as the Swallow Sidecar Company but, after the association with the Standard Motor Company as an engine supplier, the factory began to prefer Standard Swallow, the cars sold under the name "Jaguar SS". The designation was revived in 1957 when 25 unsold D-Type racing cars were reconfigured as the XKSS, nine of which were destroyed in a factory fire, an unfortunate event which created a twenty-first century marketing opportunity when nine close to exact reproductions were manufactured.
Between 1945-1949, what came to be called the Mark IV was sold as the Jaguar 1½ litre, 2½ litre & 3½ litre; most were saloons but a small number of drophead coupés (DHC or convertible and what many would call a cabriolet) were built. Still using Standard’s engines (although manufactured by Jaguar after 1946), the larger units were overhead valve (OHV) straight sixes, the smaller one an OHV four. Quite old-fashioned even then, the cars still used mechanical brakes and were built on a separate chassis frame with semi-elliptic leaf suspension on rigid axles front and rear. It was only when Jaguar introduced the Mark V (1948-1951) that the designation Mark IV came into being and that was the start of more than a decade of the company’s tangled use of “Mark this and that”. In the pre-war years (though the last was produced in 1940), the SS cars had been had been badged and marketed as the 1½ litre, 2½ litre & 3½ litre. There was never a Mark I, II or III and whether, after the release of the Mark V, the company ever contemplated retrospectively applying the designations to earlier iterations seems not documented. Anyway, it never was done but Jaguar wasn’t done with Marks. Their smaller saloon was sold between 1955-1959 and named “2.4” & “3.8” (the larger engine introduced in 1957) but when this model was revised for a 1959 release, it was designated Mark 2 (Roman numerals never used) and, in one form or another, these were sold until 1969. Because that car had been dubbed “Mark 2”), the original 2.4 & 3.4 came to be styled “Mark 1” but although widely used, this was never adopted by the factory. Concurrent with all that, the Mark VII was updated as the Mark VIII (1956-1958) & Mark IX (1958-1961) before being replaced by the radically different Mark X (1961-1966). In 1966, Jaguar gave up, use of “Mark” abandoned with the revised Mark X becoming the 420G (1966-1970). Beginning in 1968, subsequent model revisions were denoted by “Series” (S1, S2 etc) rather than “Mark”. Clear?
Jaguar Mark V, 1948-1951: Unlike the first genuinely new post-war American cars which stylistically were a generation (or more) advanced, in appearance the Mark V was clearly an evolution from the pre-war lines, the flowing curves more integrated into the coachwork and the once separate headlamps now in nacelles flared into the bodywork. Bigger and heavier than its predecessors, the Mark V, again offered as a saloon or DHC, was fitted only with the six-cylinder engines; it would be decades before the next four-cylinder Jaguar would be sold, the XK-four prototypes tested for a couple of years thought unsuitable for the market segment Jaguar played a part in creating and defining. The OHV six was carried over from the Mark IV, the new double overhead camshaft (DOHC) XK-six remaining exclusive to the XK-120 (1648-1954) sports car until the debut of the Mark VII in 1951 but under the skin, it was rather more modern, now with independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes though the separate chassis would remain until the end of the Mark IX production in 1961. There would be no Jaguar Mark VI, apparently because the visually similar Bentley Mark VI was already on sale and the story (which has been repeated over the years) that the abortive Jaguar Mark VI was a Mark V fitted with the XK-six is apparently a myth although several such cars certainly were built as testbeds for the drivetrain which would be used in the Mark VII.
Jaguar Mark VII, 1951-1956: Unpersuaded by the various newer aesthetics emerging from the design studios in Europe and the US, Jaguar remained reluctant entirely to abandon the pre-war lines, the Mark VII again evolutionary in appearance, something of a streamlined Mark V, but under the hood (bonnet) now sat the XK-120’s 3.4 litre (210 cubic inch) XK-Six which enabled the big saloon (there were no more DHCs) to top 100 mph (160 km/h) with acceleration to match all but the most powerful of the competition from Detroit. In a sign of the times, the automatic gearbox, previously available only on export models, was offered as an option on the home market. The lusty performance made the bulky Mark VII a somewhat improbable competition car but it enjoyed success both on the track and as a rally car, a career enhanced when the Mark VII M was introduced in 1954, the engine now with more aggressive camshafts and a higher compression ratio made possible by the wider availability of high-octane petrol. The lift in performance was sufficient for victory in the 1956 Monte-Carlo Rally and while success continued on the track in many countries, in the US, a Jaguar’s win a NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) event was enough to convince the ruling body to ban foreign-built cars except those so small and slow they’d not threaten Detroit's big "stockers". The race the XK120 FHC won was a 100 mile (160 km) road-course (ie not one of the big ovals) event held at Linden Airport, New Jersey on 13 June, 1954 and was a foreign vehicle’s first victory in one of NASCAR’s premier races (then Grand National, later NASCAR Cup series). It would be the only time a Jaguar took a NASCAR chequered flag and the last win by a car from a foreign manufacturer until 2008 when Toyotas began racing.
Jaguar Mark VIII, 1956-1958: Externally distinguishable from its predecessor only by the new, one-piece curved windscreen, cut-away rear spats (fender skirts) and other detail changes, the Mark VIII gained another useful increase in performance by the adoption of a variation of the XK-140’s higher performance 3.4 XK-Six, tuned to deliver low and mid-range torque rather than the top-end power needed in sports-car trim. Now with more elaborate appointments, weight increased so the lift in performance was a little blunted but Jaguar’s choice as a performance saloon had anyway switched to (what came retrospectively to be known as) the smaller Mark 1 which in 1957 gained the 3.4 litre engine, becoming something of the BMW M5 of its day. That was good but to keep the price down, disc brakes initially remained an option, a heinous omission on what was then one of the fastest cars on the road but Jaguar always prioritized "value for money" and their marketing slogan was "grace, space and pace", not "brakes, space and pace". Additionally, the 1956 Suez crisis had made the smaller car much more attractive to customers and from its introduction the smaller saloon would out-sell the big Marks. In a strange quirk, despite being removed from the catalogue in 1958, Mark VIII production continued into 1960 because a particular specification was made for the UK military, the machines a great favorite as staff cars for admirals, generals and air marshals.
Jaguar Mark IX, 1958-1961: With the success of the smaller Mark I & 2, they became the mainstream Jaguar saloons and the Mark IX was upgraded with more luxurious fittings and some previously optional features such as the steel sliding sunroof (then described as a "sunshine roof") became standard equipment. Power was again increased, the XK-six now bored out to 3.8 litres (231 cubic inches) and rated at 220 HP (horsepower), the same unit that would power the smaller Mark 2 to several seasons of dominance in saloon car racing; only the triple carburetor versions in the XK150S, Mark X (later 420G) & E-Type (XKE) would be more powerful. While reliability of 3.8 litre versions of the XK-six had proved satisfactory in competition, tests by the engineers suggested that over time, there would be a susceptibility to cracking between the bores so a new block was designed, including re-designed water passages to the front and rear sections, effectively linking to two separate chambers around banks of three cylinders. As an additional precaution, unlike the 3.4 where each cylinder had been bored directly into the casting, dry liners were adopted. Befitting the market at which it was aimed, power steering was now standard as were four-wheel disc brakes which were typical of the early versions of the type, often noisy and with quite high pedal pressures but very effective, so good in fact that in conjunction with the power of the new 3.8 engine, on the track the big Jaguar was again remarkably competitive in it its class. Even by 1958 however, the Mark IX was stylistically, a bit of a relic and in 1961 it was replaced by the longer, lower, wider Mark X.
Jaguar Mark X, 1961-1966 & 420G, 1966-1970: A transformative vehicle, the Mark X in so many ways set the template for Jaguar saloons, one which would serve the line for half a century, the lines first seen in 1961 not retired until the X358 version of the XJ ended production in 2009 (to be replaced by something which looked like a big Hyundai). While in engineering terms, a considerable advance over its baroque predecessor, the low-slung lines made it less suitable as a state vehicle, a market-gap not adequately filled by the visually antiquated limousines Jaguar had inherited when it absorbed Daimler in 1960 and this would not be resolved until late in the decade. The Mark X represented Jaguar’s particular take on modernity. Introduced in the same year, while it didn’t create anything like the splash the sensational E-Type managed, it shared much of the mechanical specification including the very clever rear suspension with its inboard disc brakes, another long-lived design which wouldn’t be retired until 2006. Also shared with the E-Type was the triple carburetor 3.8 XK-six, rated at up to (a perhaps optimistic) 265 HP although in 1965, that would be replaced by the 4.2 litre (258 cubic inch) iteration, installed in the quest for more torque, something distinctly lacking compared with the big displacement V8s used by US manufacturers.
Although the 4.2's additional displacement was achieved by enlarging the bore, it was still a long-stroke unit and the changed characteristics did improve drivability, as did the improved, all-synchromesh four-speed manual gearbox which, while shared with and much welcomed in the E-Type, was anyway becoming increasingly less relevant in cars in this market segment. That was certainly true in the US which was the market in which the Mark X was intended to succeed but there it never did. It was always understood by the factory that because of its sheer size, appeal in the home market would be limited but there were high hopes for success across the Atlantic and indeed, the Mark X was is so many ways perfect niche competition for the big Buicks, Cadillacs, Lincolns and Imperials. However, by the early 1960s those manufacturers were building the finest engine-transmission combinations in the world with V8 engines up to 430 cubic inches (7.0 litres) and gearboxes which didn’t so much change gear as slur effortlessly from one ratio to the next. It was a driving experience the XK-six couldn’t match under the conditions in which most American driving took place and the joys offered by the brakes and suspension (more sophisticated than anything built by Detroit), didn’t compensate for the lack of effortlessness or amenities like air-conditioning which could, with the twist of a knob deliver anything from a cooling waft to an icy blast. The obvious solution would have been to install the superb 4.6 litre (278 cubic inch) V8 acquired with the purchase in 1960 of Daimler and the V8 was tested in a Mark X with most satisfactory results and if more was wanted, enlargement well beyond five litres (305 cubic inches) was possible. Unfortunately, Jaguar at the time was convinced engines should have either six or twelve cylinders and it’s true their V12 with its turbine-like smoothness would have suited the Mark X perfectly but it took so long to develop that the big car was out of production by the time it arrived. The failure to pursue the simple expedient of using the Daimler V8 in the Mark X was emblematic of the mistakes, bizarre decisions and missed opportunities which was the tale of the British motor industry in the 1960s and 1970s,
So, selling is much lower volumes than had been hoped, the 4.2 litre Mark X continued until 1970 by which time production had slowed to a trickle. To mark some detail changes in trim and a few additions to conform with new safety regulations, it was in 1966 renamed 420G (rather than Mark XI as tradition suggested) but even the option of (semi-satisfactory) air-conditioning and a central partition to make it a more suitable vehicle for those with chauffeurs didn’t arouse much interest. When the Mark X’s fine underpinnings were instead in 1968 offered in the more manageably sized XJ6, it was the death knell, the 420G, its tooling long amortized, remaining on the books to fulfil the limited demand which still existed for a car which, whatever its flaws, offered a unique combination of virtues for those who appreciated such things.
Daimler DS420s: One of the rare landaulet’s (left) of which Vanden Plas built only two although coach-builders and others have created a number (of varying quality) by modifying standard limousines; two with their chauffeurs awaiting their passengers, Pall Mall, Westminster, London, 1974 (centre) and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, London, 6 September 1997 (right).
Daimler DS 420, 1968-1992: British Leyland, which had absorbed Jaguar, had continued production of both the Daimler Majestic Major with its old-fashioned body and modern V8 engine and the truly antiquated Vanden Plas Princess, replacing them (and in a sense the old Jaguar Mark IX) with the new Daimler DS420. The DS420 needs to be considered when assessing the Mark X/420G as a failure because it was atop the Mark X’s fine platform the dignified DS420 sat. Suddenly the sheer bulk of the Mark X, which had proved such an impediment to market acceptance, was an invaluable asset, the stately DS420 long & tall, as ideal for presidents and potentates and it proved for funeral directors and the wedding trade. Most were configured as conventional limousines but coachbuilders built also hearses and the odd landaulet; they were for decades a fixture at state events, weddings and funerals (the hearse for Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) was a DS420). The last was made in 1992 and was noted also for being the final car to use the old XK-six, introduced more than forty years earlier in the XK120.
The "Diana hearse" (B626MRK) was a 1985 model, built by Wilcox Limousines and owned by the Funeral Directors Leverton & Sons; it was the last DS420 so modified by Wilcox before hearse production was shifted to the sister company Eagle Specialist Vehicles and was the same car used to collect her coffin from RAF Northolt after its arrival from France. In 2003, Levertons sold B626MRK after it had for some years been in storage. It was purchased by an anonymous buyer for £90,000, the somewhat macabre celebrity association gaining it quite a premium over the Stg£3,000-4,000 a typical DS420 hearse of this age and condition would be expected to attract. Inevitably, there was criticism, some claiming the thing should have been donated to a museum but, accustomed to death, undertakers are pragmatic and to Levertons doubtlessly it was just another piece of obsolete equipment to be sold to the highest bidder.
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