On a cool, brisk Thursday in Surrey on New Year's day 2026 at Brooklands in Surrey this Jaguar MK1 3.4 was on the tarmac.

It was itself registered on New Year's Day in 1958 and celebrating it's 68th birthday (just saving you the mental arithmetic there)

It's got a 3443cc engine under the bonnet and it did have the option of having the newly introduced (at the end of 1957) disc brakes on all four wheels.

The 3.4 was added to the MK1 line in February 1957, targeting the American market. The MK 1 was also the first monocoque  car for Jaguar moving away from the "Body on-frame-chassis" and was a pivotal point in the fortunes of Jaguar. It also weighed 283Kg less than the 1954 Jaguar VIIM 3.4 litre.

This is a 1959 Mercury Commuter with a 6300cc engine under the bonnet and it's rare.

This is a 1959 Mercury Commuter, one of only 1,051 two-door versions produced in the 1959–60 model year. 

By comparison, the four-door version had a longer production term and produced 15,122 units.
It features a three-speed, rear-wheel-drive automatic transmission and is powered by a Mercury Marauder 430-cubic-inch V8 engine.

The interior is spacious, offering plenty of legroom. The bench seats comfortably accommodate six people, with ample headroom and generous luggage space.

How long is it? The Mercury measures 218.6 inches in length. To put that into perspective, it’s 27.6 inches longer than the Jaguar 2.4, 3.4, and 3.8 models, which come in at 181 inches.
Width-wise, at 80.7 inches, it’s 13 inches wider than the Jaguar.

The estimated shipping/curb weight of the Mercury Commuter is 2,080 kg (4,590 lbs), which is some 645 kg (1,430 lbs) heavier than the 1957 Jaguar 3.4 Saloon with automatic transmission. The Jaguar has a shipping/curb weight of 1,435 kg (3,160 lbs).
 

Performance
 

The Mercury is capable of accelerating from 0–60 mph in 10.1 seconds, from 0–100 km/h in 10.7 seconds, and from 0–160 km/h (100 mph) in 31.7 seconds, with a top speed of 116 mph.

Economics
Fuel capacity is 76 litres (20.1 U.S. gallons / 16.7 imperial gallons).
At speeds of up to 62 mph (100 km/h), fuel consumption ranges between 15.7 and 18.8 mpg, measured in imperial (UK) gallons.
 

In 1957, the Jaguar 3.4-litre Mk I automatic was tested by The Motor magazine and recorded a top speed of 119.8 mph (192.8 km/h) and acceleration from 0–60 mph in 11.2 seconds. 

Fuel consumption of 21.1 miles per imperial gallon (13.4 litres per 100 km) was also recorded.
 

In the USA in 1959, petrol (gasoline) cost 30–31 cents per gallon. In the UK, it was priced at 4 shillings and sixpence (4s 6d) per imperial gallon, which equated to approximately 63 cents.
 

As the imperial gallon is about 20% larger than the U.S. gallon, a like-for-like comparison puts the 1959 UK versus USA price at the pump at roughly 63 cents versus 36 cents—making fuel around 75% more expensive in the UK.

Even though the Mercury uses more fuel, the much cheaper petrol in the USA means the Jaguar costs about $0.70–$1.07 more to drive 100 miles than the Mercury in their respective home markets.

I was simply making a few comparisons between the two cars to provide some perspective—you can make your own observations.

The Mercury Commuter wouldn’t have been an ideal police car of that era, either in the USA or UK which did adopt the Jag especially with it's girling disc brakes on all 4 corners and the Jag wouldn't have made a wholesome American family car able to pop down to B&Q and load up the tents and take the family on camping trips.
 

The bridge in the background is not as old as the Brooklands circuit which opened in 1907.

This one is a replica of the original and positioned in the same place in 1988.

Until 1939 the members bridge provided spectacular views of the racing and was an iconic feature which can be seen in old photographs and film of the racing days. At the time the bridge led to the Members Restaurant situated at the top of the hill.

The racing circuit had it's last racing meeting in 1939, interrupted by the war, when the site was requistioned. by the government to build aircraft for the war effort. Repairs to damage caused to the circuit during the war proved to be too costly and the land was eventually sold