When I think of a 1948 Jaguar, my mind immediately reflects on the XK 120. With good reason.
The XK 120 DNA led directly through XK 140 and XK 150 to the XKE or E-Type, one of the most beautiful sports cars ever built. Surprisingly, the XK 120 was easily outsold in 1948 by another Jaguar, a car the XK 120 shared the display with at the 1948 London Motor Show. That automobile was the Mark V Jaguar, a true gentleman's car. The XK 120 was anything but. Interestingly the XK 120 bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1940 BMW 328 Mille Miglia.
What's that about imitation being the greatest form of flattery? Both cars were the first of the new design Jaguars to come after WW2. The Jaguar saloon, a far more streamlined car than pre-war models, is a refined automobile in appearance, an upper-class British club on wheels, reeking of old leather, port wine and cigar aroma. It's a, “Jolly good show, old chap” type of vehicle ... and started a tradition that continues to this day in contemporary Jaguar saloon vehicles.
Which makes it surprising where we found this fine example of a Mark V saloon: at a rev head, V8-or-nothing display in Brisbane organised by the Monaro Club of Queensland. There, amid the wildly painted Chev Impala's, bevy of hotted up Monaros, Ford T-Bucket and Rat style Ford sat the pristine Jaguar. It was like taking a bottle of Penfolds Grange to a bucks party. We are glad the owner did rock up, as these Jags are as rare as rocking horse poo.
The Mark V came with a choice of two engines, a 2.5 litre or a 3.5 litre straight six. Our featured car was fitted with the less popular 2.5 litre engine, (2664cc) sourced from Stand Motor Company, boasting 78 kW of power run through a four speed manual gearbox. The 3.5 litre also came from standard, and had been used in the earlier SS Jaguars. Performance from both cars was fairly pedestrian, with the 3.5 having a top speed of 146 kmh.
Spats ---- the rear wheel covers --- were a standard fixture and it's good to see both these and the steel disc wheels are original. The car's styling is traditional Jaguar with a tall, upright chrome grille topped off with a leaper (Jaguar's leaping bonnet emblem/radiator cap) which was an option. The Mark V had an all new chassis with independent front suspension with double wishbones and torsion bar, a system Jaguar used for many years.
Mark V also came with hydraulic brakes. The 3.5 litre variant was also sold as a drop head coupe, surprisingly at the same price. These coupes are now keenly sought-after collector cars. The Mark V was succeeded by the Mark V11 in 1951. |
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