The winemaker's Mk2

Chris Hatcher is the chief winemaker at Wolf Blass in the Barossa Valley. He is meticulous by profession. His 1959 Jaguar Mk2 — the 59th 3.4-litre example ever built — is the product of that same temperament applied to a very different kind of craft.

The car had been a family fixture for years, driven regularly until the brakes failed. His wife's verdict was immediate: 'That's it. Time to get it done.' Hatcher had been researching upgraded Mk2s, studying the Beacham cars and Ian Callum's CMC reimagining. He knew what he wanted — a car that looked like a perfect original but drove like something built this century — and he took it to Finch Restorations in Mt Barker, South Australia.

The brief was total. The original 3.4 was replaced with a 4.2-litre XK engine from an XJ6, fed by triple SU carburettors on a 420G inlet manifold. Hatcher rejected fuel injection because it didn't look right. A Tremec T5 five-speed manual replaced the old automatic. Coopercraft four-pot billet aluminium calipers with vented discs handle the stopping. EZ power steering, Koni shocks, polyurethane bushes, and upgraded anti-roll bars transformed the handling. The front seats were sourced from an XJ6 X300 and retrimmed in a seven-pleat design that matches the original Mk2 pattern.

The details are what separate this from a standard restomod. The instruments were sent to New York for refurbishment. The wiring was replaced entirely but cloth-wrapped to look period. A Moto-Lita wood-rimmed wheel replaced the original. Air conditioning was integrated into the heater box so it's invisible. There's cruise control, a rear-view camera, central locking, GPS, and LED globes throughout — all hidden behind a dashboard that looks untouched since Coventry.

Shane at Finch Restorations says you can drive it 'like a Corolla.' That's the point. The Mk2 was always a beautiful car — Hatcher just wanted one that was also reliable, comfortable, and fast enough to enjoy on Barossa back roads without worrying about what might fail next. His wife is happy. The brakes work.