Classic comeback? Could Jaguar Design Director’s one-off MKII recreation signal something bigger?

By Marcus Amick March 13, 2013

News that Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum will design a special one-off of the Jaguar MKII makes you wonder what else he might have up his sleeve.

The iconic MKII, once used in the ‘60s as police vehicles to chase bank robbers, is considered one of the most timeless British car designs from the past 50 years and is a much sought-after collectors piece.

“This is the first classic Jaguar I have ever owned,” Callum said in a statement. “I have greatly admired the Jaguar MKII since I was a boy. Now I have the chance to ‘build’ one to my exact design specifications.”

To design the MKII, Callum is teaming up with Classic Motor Cars (CMC), of Bridgnorth, England, which just announced that it will start supplying classic Jaguars to Stratstone, Europe’s largest independent Jaguar.

In addition to some different styling cues, the MKII that Callum and Classic Motor Cars will build will also include some engineering modifications.

Even as a one-off, it’ll be interesting to see if any of design cues on Callum’s MKII will wind up influencing any future Jaguars.

Callum, who is credited with helping to spearhead the rebirth of the marquee with cars like the XJ, speaks a lot about how cars of Jaguar’s heyday have influenced his design approach to current models.

However, maybe it’ll be Callum’s design work with some of the more recent Jaguars that will influence his recreation of the MKII with CMC with a limited-edition line of classic new Jaguars to follow.

Either way, it’ll be an interesting project to follow and one that’ll likely wind up being one of the most coveted Jaguars to date.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Marcus Amick has been writing about the world of cars for more than ten years and has covered everything from new automobiles…

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