31 March 2025 | Market News
With just one owner recorded and the MkV said to be in “unbelievable original condition”, it’s a complete example that’s waiting to be brought back to life. The engine is thought to be seized due to such a long period of standing, but the car will roll for loading onto a trailer.
This is one of around 10,500 examples of the short-lived MkV built by Jaguar. The company’s latest saloon was unveiled in September 1948, with production beginning early the following year. The very last MkV was produced in mid-1951, when it bowed out to make way for the radically different MkVII.
The MkV was available as the four-door saloon featured here, or as a two-door drophead coupé, and was the first Jaguar to feature independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes. Under the bonnet sat the same OHV straight-six engines as the MkV’s 2½ Litre and 3½ Litre predecessors (retrospectively known as the MkIV), powerplants that dated back to the 1930s and were originally developed by the Standard Motor Company.
This particular survivor is the 3485cc version, which pushed out 125bhp when new, linked to a four-speed Moss-type manual gearbox. When The Motor magazine tested a 3½-litre MkV in 1949, it recorded a top speed of almost 91mph and a 0-60mph acceleration time of 20.4 seconds.
The MkV featured a new design of chassis, broadly similar to that of the XK120, with deep box sections and cross-bracing for added stiffness. Combined with the double wishbone and torsion bar set-up of the independent front suspension, the end result was a saloon with impressively taut handling by standards of the time.
If you fancy taking on this fascinating all-original example as your next project, visit www.yorkshireclassiccarcentre.co.ukor call +44 (0)1405 860021.
