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Published on 25 May 2022

Yes JW, one the all-time greats of performance sedans or 'sporting saloons’ as the Brits say. The Mark 2 3.8 has a rich heritage in Australian touring car racing, which evolved from David McKay’s historic debut win in a new Mark 1 3.4 at the Bathurst AGP meeting in 1958. Bob Jane’s legendary Mk 2 3.8 (below) was labelled the fastest Jaguar saloon in the world by the UK motoring press during its dominance from 1961-65. Stretched to 4.1 litres under Appendix J rules, it won a total of 70 races including two ATCC titles and set new lap records at every circuit. It was also officially timed at Bathurst on the old Conrod Straight at 151 mph (242 km/h) which was line-ball with the fastest GT-HO Phase Threes competing in the Bathurst 500 a decade later. I was most fortunate to interview Jane’s long-time mechanic John Sawyer (left of frame) before his passing for a detailed Shannons Club story, in which John generously revealed many secrets behind the success of Jane’s famous Mark 2: https://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/racing-garage/jaguar-mk-2-bob-janes-41-litre-151-mph-super-cat/