Jaguar Mark 2 By Callum
Angus MacKenzie drives the Jaguar Mark 2 By Callum in this exclusive video.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 When I was a youngster, I always wanted to redesign the Mark II because I loved it, but
00:06 the thing I didn't like about it was these big bumpers, these great big girders as we
00:11 call them in Scotland, these great big bits of metal front and back.
00:16 I just felt they were ungainly, they weren't in keeping with the rest of the delicacy of
00:19 the car.
00:20 But as a teenager, I wanted to redesign it, I wanted to make it much simpler, more like
00:25 a race car might be.
00:26 Now what happened with other cars, like the Escorts and the Cortinas and the Minis, people
00:30 used to take all the chrome off them, to take weight off them mainly.
00:34 But you couldn't do that with the Mark II because you took the bumpers off, there's
00:37 nothing underneath them, it's just fresh air.
00:40 When I thought of buying one, I thought, well why don't you make it the way you always wanted
00:43 it to be all those years ago, and I'm talking about 40 years ago here, 45 years ago.
00:49 And I wanted it to be as it was then in my mind.
00:53 Some people don't get it, but you know what, it doesn't really matter.
00:57 I didn't do it for them, I did it for me.
01:08 Well you know, when I was growing up I loved the Mark II Jag, I used to watch motor racing,
01:12 it was always Mark IIs and Minis and Lotus Cortinas, and that was kind of the main event
01:17 for me.
01:18 And I always thought one day I would own a Mark II.
01:21 And I used to draw pictures of modern houses with a Mark II in the driveway, because that
01:25 to me was the aspiration.
01:27 I thought about just having a nice Mark II, for me it's important if you've got an old
01:30 car, it's important everything underneath it is right.
01:33 I love the idea that the body works beautiful, but there's pockets of rust and stuff.
01:37 So for me, I wanted to restore a Mark II to the point that I knew it was perfect all the
01:42 way through.
01:43 The bumpers were very important to take all that mass out and try and get that sort of
01:46 totality, as I call it, that feeling of it wrapping back in itself so it's got a complete
01:51 picture.
01:52 I wanted to de-chrome a lot of the car, not all of it, because I realised on the body
01:56 section as the door comes down it's got a lovely crease and then it folds out into the
02:00 beautiful door.
02:01 And you know, the Mark II door is gorgeous.
02:04 There is nothing on it, it's just this wonderful full shape that goes on forever.
02:09 And I can't help but enjoy that sense of, people might call it nothingness or blandness,
02:14 it's not, it's very beautiful simplicity, that's what it is.
02:17 But at the very top of that crease is where the chrome sits in, there's a beautiful section.
02:22 You take all the chrome out and you can see it, you can see this gorgeous section that's
02:26 been hiding away there for 50 years.
02:29 The chrome came off the bonnet, the hood, except the leaper, had to have the leaper.
02:35 And minus the chrome of the bumpers as well, I just think it's a much more homogeneous
02:40 car, it's much more together, it's much more complete.
02:43 And it takes on quite a different atmosphere actually, more than I thought it would.
02:48 And I wanted to put something that was a little bit of me in terms of my love for hot rods
02:55 into the car and that was the vents on the side.
02:57 Now Jaguars had those anyway and the E-Type and the Coombs Mark II had them in the bonnet,
03:02 you know these cut vents.
03:05 But I decided I wanted it differently so I put them on the side and I made sure when
03:08 we re-engineered the car, air actually comes through there out of the engine bay and actually
03:14 comes out the sides and it helps the air flow through the engine bay.
03:18 Because we all know that these old Jaguars need as much help with the air flow through
03:21 the engine bay as you can possibly get and so that works very well now.
03:25 I wanted it in metallic grey because I used to remember the most beautiful Mark IIs were
03:29 always in metallic grey but we got a sample of what that grey looks like and it's a bit
03:32 warm and a bit mushy actually when you actually see it in a modern way.
03:36 So we got a new modern grey, it's a Jaguar paint, it's not one that's now in production,
03:41 it's one that went out about two or three years ago but it's a modern grey, it's a much
03:44 cooler grey than the old Jaguar metallic grey.
03:47 And I want it always, as I always do with my cars, I love to offset the interior colour
03:51 with the exterior.
03:53 I like the idea of this glow coming out through the windows.
03:56 The interior is all red leather and it's a bright red leather, I mean it really does
04:00 punch out and admittedly a little too bright for some people.
04:05 I'm sure if you saw this in a Californian sunshine it would really, you'd need to wear
04:08 shades all the time, it would really glare out at you.
04:11 Love it or love it, that's the way it is.
04:13 You get this black wood and silver dials popping out of them which are redesigned and the switches,
04:20 all the rocker switches, you know all these things you, when you start up the jet engine
04:23 you have to press them all down and then you start the car up and that kind of romance
04:28 of something very fast is going to happen.
04:31 [Music]
04:33 You know I've been privileged to drive some pretty cool cars over the years, but I've
04:48 got to say the Calum Mark II is one of the coolest.
04:52 This car makes me smile.
04:55 It's this absolutely adorable combination of the old and the new that's been brought
04:59 seamlessly together.
05:02 The beautiful 1960s curvaceous bodywork of the Mark II Jag, that charismatic straight
05:08 six twin cam XK engine up front, but then you've got the modern suspension.
05:13 This car rides really well, yet it feels buttoned down, connected to the road like a modern
05:18 car.
05:19 You know there's a more meaty tyre there, more grip through the corners.
05:23 The steering is power steering, but it's nice and direct with good feel.
05:27 It's a five speed stick shift and the brakes, big vented discs up front, really grip strongly.
05:35 You're always aware though you are in an old car.
05:37 You sit up and the steering wheel is in a fixed position and there's this wonderful
05:42 panoramic view through these big windows.
05:45 You know this car was designed back in the day when gentlemen wore hats.
05:49 I feel like I've been given an insight into the mind of Ian Calum, Jaguar designer, but
05:55 he's really a passionate enthusiast.
05:58 He loves beautiful cars.
06:00 He has great eye for attention to detail.
06:04 This car really is an expression of the man himself.
06:08 This is a unique experience, this car.
06:10 A wonderful experience, something I'll always remember.
06:13 There's nothing quite like a Calum Mark II.
06:18 This is my personal car.
06:19 This is something that I've always wanted to do.
06:21 It has my own heritage and my own mind.
06:25 I'm glad I've done it.
06:27 I'd like to build some more.
06:28 In fact, I've had a request from a few people for equivalent cars to be made.
06:33 We've got at least three or four people interested.
06:37 We may well build a few more.
06:38 I wouldn't build any more than 10, that would be it, if that many.
06:42 Yes, I'll get my personal attention and we'll see what happens.
06:48 I love the idea that somebody else wants my car with my name on it.
06:53 (upbeat music)
06:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]