The Jaguar Mark VIII is a luxury four-door automobile introduced by the Jaguar company of Coventry at the 1956 London Motor Show. It succeeded the Jaguar Mark VII M, made from 1950 to 1956, and was replaced by the Mark IX in late 1958, made until 1961.
Styling
The car shared its 10 ft wheelbase with its predecessor, the Jaguar Mark VII M, which outwardly it closely resembled. The most obvious change was a new curved one-piece windscreen. Distinguishing visually between the models is facilitated by changes to the front grille and a curved chrome trim strip below the waistline which allowed the factory to offer a variety of two-tone paint schemes. In addition the new car had rear spats that were cut back to display more of the rear wheels. The interior fittings were more luxurious than those of the Mark VII M.
Engine and running gear
The Mark VIII inherited from its predecessor the 3442 cc straight-six engine which it shared with the Jaguar XK140 that appeared two years earlier. In the Mark VIII, a modified cylinder head known as the 'B' type was used. Although introduced subsequent to the 'C' type competition head (as used on the C-Type