Category: Styling

I purchased the dark blue car, the first one I inspected, and it was the best. Full restoration history by A.A. Snowden in Dortmund in 2003-04, pictures, invoices, communication in two big binders, no rust anywhere, perfect chrome, original seats, like-new condition of the interior, great colour combination.

Brexit Hassles

And I made a second important decision: I spoke to the MD of Retro Classics again and we decided that importing/exporting the car with the unbelievable hassle of customs, added costs of 10% customs duty and £4,500 for registering Retro Classics with the HMRC to allow the “inward processing of goods“ procedure – it all does not make sense for either of us. It’s a shame, but maybe I’ll convert another car after the UK comes back into the EU?

Luckily, I kept researching companies (some have a 12 months waiting list!) in Europe and have multiple options.

EU to the rescue

I spoke again to Peter from Peetclassics in Voorschoten, NL. Peter showed me around the workshop and the Mk2 he recently electrified for a customer in a virtual video tour. His experience with both, electrification and the specifics of the Mk2 will be invaluable.

Next step is agreeing on the specification, mainly capacity and engine type, and a calculating the costs for the basics (battery, motor, AC, power steering) without any extras that might come after. Spoiler: This will def. be more than €70k. I am prepared.

I am also talking to Srdjan Jovović from CRS in Vreeland, NL. Let’s see who has the better concept. Srdjan has converted a few E-Types (66 kWh as he did not want to make the car heavier) and has done 100 (!) restorations of XK140/150s – very impressive.

I am trying to get to 80 kWh if at all possible. Maybe 2027 offers a higher energy density by weight and volume.

There are people who like the shape of the Mk2 but want to drive a modern car. For those, quite a few companies create restomods and change almost everything under the bonnet, inside the car, suspension, brakes – everything but the outside metal.

That is definitely not a classic car anymore and not something I even remotely consider, however, it shows professional craftsmanship and I do appreciate it.

From Extreme…

The New Zealand based company Beachman creates a bespoke Mk2 with a modern V8, replacing suspension, brakes and almost the full interior. From the pictures it is hard to see that this is still a Mk2. It has ABS, electric windows, central locking, cruise control, multi-zone air conditioning, a double wishbone coil suspension, powersteering, virtual instruments, bluetooth audio, 10 speakers plus subwoofer, a rear view camera, even modern assistance systems like emergency braking.

That definitely is a modern car, and I doubt they’d be able to get it road legal in the EU.

… via bold …

And then there’s the Ian Callum Mk2: A variant that the former Jaguar Head of Design built for himself in 2014, and while I won’t call it subtle, it’s a lot less extreme and primarily changes some exterior and interior design elements, making the car look much more modern.

However, for that one-off car, while it still shows the Mk2, almost everything was touched: The track is wider, so it has new front wings, most of the chrome and brightwork was replaced, new engine and suspension and a fully re-done interior.

… to tasteful

And then, here’s another restomod. Described as “The ultimate Jaguar Mk2”, it was built by JD Classics in 2022, and comes much closer to keeping a classic car but improving it where it makes everyday use difficult.

This covers some range of restomods, and they neither of them is getting close to where I want to go. Plans are getting more concrete. More to come soon.

There’s no way to decide on the paint colour without looking at the interior. Of course, the original cars were all trimmed in leather; there was no other option. And a surprisingly large number of these were in bright red – combined with either Old English White, Gunmetal Grey or Midnight Blue. Also British Racing Green and Silver – actually almost every colour was combined with this bold lipstick red – and her more sensible sister in maroon red. These were the sixties after all!

To the modern eye, it needs a little adjustment. But after a while, I find that people more and more like it.

I am not going to discuss a black interior as I really do not like it. It’s like entering a dark tunnel. However, this dark blue interior of the light silver green Mk2 works perfectly with the paint and still looks inviting:

And there’s the light grey variant – unfortunately with XJ6 seats. It looks a bit boring grandpa colour to my eye, but still acceptable. Please note the headrests – I’d love to have them, but not with the XJ seats. Not sure what to do.

My least favourite is the tan variant. Just adding for completeness of standard colours:

As I am going to spend a lot of money on the conversation, the resulting car body, suspension, brakes, interior, chrome etc. need to be in mint condition. I want to drive the car for many years and need to start with a well restored and corrosion protected car.

Nothing is more expensive than a cheap classic car. I need to find the best one that meets my colour preference.

The European market for Mk2’s is rather big and some of them meticulously restored and protected via epoxy coating or galvanic dipping. I could pick the 2.4 litre engine, however, even in the 90s very few people spent a lot of effort on restoring these. Most good cars are 3.8 litres MOD – manual transmission with overdrive. An automatic would have the advantage of being able to keep the center console trimming and the stick behind the steering wheel for drive mode selection. But anything goes, really, provided the car and axles are in condition categories 1 or 2.

I need to get my preferences clear on paint colour, interior color and how much original I want it. I def. want seat belts and headrests, but will I be happy with XJ6 or XJ6 seats in a Mk2?

Let’s start with the paint colours.

Preferred colours

Dark green, any shade, really. British racing green is a little dark but would be acceptable. The darker the less favourable would be black interior.

This one is particularly nice in a very light silverish green, currently on offer in the Netherlands. Dark blue interior, very good condition.

Plain silver works as well. Preferred with red interior.

And I still love the light blue as it reminds me of my beloved Jaguar E-Type.

This one is very dark blue with a lovely bright red interior. Very original. Currently on offer in Cologne.

All of the above work for me. I personally like a not too bright shade of red as well, but my wife disagrees, so this i not going to be a choice – every husband knows what I mean.