Jagwah (pronounced jag-whar)
A slang term in western Africa; a colloquialism for a smart man-about-town.
From 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; desired life-style linked to status-symbols. In west-Africa, Jagwah to this day remains a colloquialism for "a smart man-about-town".
Under British colonial rule since the early nineteenth century, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Within a few weeks, the new government had bought forty 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 in the continent. The economics were also compelling with their price being less than half that of a visually similar Rolls-Royce or Bentley.
The big post-war Jaguars
Jaguar Mark IV, 1945-1949: Like many of the cars produced immediately after WWII, the Jaguar Mark IV range was essentially the same at that made in the pre-war years. The nomenclature however changed in 1945 and would later again change retrospectively, the Mark IV tag adopted only when the Mark V was introduced in 1948. At that time there had never been a Mark I, II & II but Jaguar’s strange relationship with numerical progression, Arabic & Latin, would continue in the 1950s, the Mark VI skipped in deference to Bentley which already had one on sale although whether this was an attempt to push brand-perception up-market or on legal advice isn’t known. Later, structurally unrelated to the earlier cars there would be a Mark 2 and (retrospectively) a Mark 1 but after the Mark X & Mark 2 were in 1967 re-named, both Roman numerals and the use of "Mark" were abandoned in favor of an alpha-numeric mix. The other change was the dropping of the SS label, the association with the Nazi Party’s SS (Schutzstaffel (security section or squad)) too unsavoury in those times although the moment would soon pass, Jaguar in 1957 reviving the name for the XKSS, the road-going version of the D-Type race car. Jaguar’s pre-war use of SS was apparently 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 badge Jaguar SS.
Between 1945-1949 therefore, 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) 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.
Jaguar Mark V, 1948-1951: Unlike the first genuinely new post-war American cars which were stylistically a generation 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. The OHV six was carried over from the Mark IV, the new double overhead camshaft (DOHC) XK-six remaining exclusive to the XK-120 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 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: Reluctant still entirely to abandon the pre-war lines, the Mark VII was again evolutionary in appearance, something of a streamlined Mark V, but under the bonnet (hood) 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. The lusty performance made the Mark VII a somewhat improbable competition vehicle and 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 3.4 XK 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, a win in a 1956 NASCAR event was enough to convince the ruling body to ban foreign-built cars. In a sign of the times, the automatic gearbox, previously available only on export models, was offered as an option on the home market.
Jaguar Mark VIII, 1956-1958: Externally distinguishable from its predecessor only by the new, one-piece curved windscreen 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 trimmed more elaborately, 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. 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.
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 further, the interior appointments now more luxurious, some previously optional features such as the sun-roof fitted as standard. Power was again increased, the XK-six now bored out to 3.8 litres (231 cubic inches) and rated at 220 bhp (164 kW), the same unit which would power the smaller Mark 2 to such success in competition; only the triple carburetor versions in the XK-150S, Mark X & E-Type (XKE) would be more powerful. 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 decades. While in engineering terms, a considerable advance over its baroque predecessor; its 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 1961, while it didn’t create anything like the splash the sensational E-Type managed that same year, 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 horsepower although in 1965, that would be replaced by the 4.2 litre iteration, installed in the quest for more torque.
The long-stroke 4.2 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 United States which was the market at 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 (two generations ahead of anything from Detroit), didn’t compensate for the lack of effortlessness or amenities like air-conditioning which actually worked. 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.
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 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 offered in the much more manageably sized XJ6 in 1968, it was the death knell, the 420G, its tooling long amortized remaining on the books to fulfil the small demand which still existed for a car, which whatever its design failures, still offered a unique combination of virtues for those who appreciated such things.
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 around the Mark X’s frame the DS420 was designed. 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, ideal for presidents and potentates. 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 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.
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