It's here!

This vehicle began its life as a Mark 2 340. By 1967, the 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre Mark 2s had been in production for eight years and Jaguar decided that a facelift was needed. The decision was taken to drop the 3.8 litre car (a handful were made to special order) and to rebadge the 2.4 and 3.4 as the 240 and 340 respectively, in line with the fashion of the period. The 240s and 340s were the last incarnation of the Mark 2 and were produced between 1968 and 1969. In many ways the cars were an improvement on their predecessors, the 2.4, 3.4 and 3.8 litre Mk. 2s. With the benefit of years of experience, Jaguar revised the engine to improve performance. The 240's 0-60 mph time was reduced from the 17.3 seconds of its predecessor, the 2.4 Mk. 2, to a much more respectable 12.5 seconds. In turn, the 340's 0-60 mph time was reduced to 8.8 seconds, making it 3.1 seconds faster than the older 3.4 Mk 2 and just 0.3 seconds slower than the 3.8, putting it firmly in the 'very very cool, good car for robbing banks in' category. The launch of the XJ6 in 1968 at last enabled Jaguar to rationalize a model range which, if Daimler models are counted as well, was bewilderingly complex by that stage. Although the 240 and the Daimler equivalent of the Mk 2, the V8 250, soldiered on on dealer forecourts until 1970, the 340 saw barely a year of production and only about 2,800 examples were ever built. Natural wastage since then has made a good Mk 2 340 a rare species and we are delighted to have found a very good example. Our car dates from 1968 and is the latest additon to the Big Cat Cars fleet. The vehicle was painted in deep blue at the time of purchase, and is shown in all its glory on the front cover of James Taylor's book Jaguar Mk 1 and 2, published in 1995. It has spent the last four months in the workshops of Bristol Classic and Sportscars in Kenn, near Clevedon, where it has undergone full restoration. All internal and external fittings were removed and the all the paint was stripped back to bare metal. All bodywork imperfections, no matter how slight, were repaired before the vehicle was re-sprayed in glorious Regency Red (Morse colour). Meanwhile, the woodwork of the dashboard was fully re-veneered and re-lacquered, the interior was newly retrimmed in red (replacing the previous blue), a new music system was installed, the heater was uprated, hazard warning lights were installed and any controls found faulty were repaired or replaced. The narrower bumpers which charactrerised the 340s have now been replaced by the earlier, wider type. The front foglights which were standard on the earlier Mark 2s were optional on the 340s and our car did not have them when we purchased it. These have now been fitted, completing the restyling of the vehicle and upgrading the specification to that of the earlier type Mark 2 3.4. The car has been mechanically overhauled and serviced, following which it was road-tested for three hundred miles. As was to be expected, a few minor faults revealed themselves on testing and these have now been corrected. The vehicle is truly magnificent. Our sincerest thanks go to Paul, Keith, John, Jamie, Phil and Sam at Bristol Classic and Sportscars. The quality of their workmanship has been second to none and we are truly delighted with our decision to entrust the vehicle's restoration to them. Click on any of the photographs below to see the various stages of the restoration and look on our Links page for a link to the Bristol Classic and Sportscars website.