The styling of the S-Type was regarded by many of those who worked on it as being not altogether successful. The mismatch between the horizontal lines of its rear styling and the rounded front was least flattering when viewing the car from the front quarter. This ref.Taylor, James. "Jaguar S Type and 420 – The Complete Story", Crowood, quotes Cyril Crouch, assistant chief body engineer at Browns Lane during development of the S-Type, as saying: "We ourselves appreciated what an ugly looking car it was, and when it came out there was a ... 'Is that the best you can do?' sort of thing! People like myself had to take the stick for producing such an abomination! Perhaps I shouldn't call it that, but I think everyone was very pleased to see the end of the S and move on to the 420. It seemed an odd-looking vehicle."The reasonable sales success of the S-Type prior to the release of the Jaguar 420 suggests that not everyone was as offended by its styling as Mr Crouch. Nevertheless, the 420 did "finish the job" in a styling sense by adding to the car a squarer, four-headlamp front end more like that of the Mark X.
