The Jaguar MKV is another in a long history of luxury vehicles built by Jaguar Cars Ltd. Built in Coventry England between 1948 and 1951, the MKV came out in two variants, namely the 4-door Saloon and Drophead Coupe. It was launched on 27th October 1948 at the London Motor show and shared the spotlight and stage, with the all new Jaguar XK120.

The name behind the MKV/MK5, was due to the company creating five prototype models between 1946 and 1948, experimenting with different chassis configurations before officially releasing the production ready model.

The MKV provided many firsts for Jaguar which included:

The first vehicle to have independent front suspension
The first vehicle to have hydraulic brakes
The first with fender skirts
The first Jaguar to be offered in both left and right hand drive configurations
First with disc centre wheels
The first to be offered with sealed headlamps and flashing indicators made specifically for the American automobile market

The Jaguar MKV’s powerplants were the last pushrod engines that Jaguar offered in their vehicles before going to their new overhead camshaft engines. The 2.5 and 3 litre ohv engines that were also used in the predecessor models produced 102 bhp (2.5L) and 125bhp (3.5L) and provided drive to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. This combination resulted in the MKV reaching a top speed of 146km/h as tested by a publication in 1949 when they have tested a 3.5L model.

The MKV’s road holding features a new chassis frame with deep box sections and cross bracing along with double wishbone independent front suspension to improve overall stiffness and therefore, improving the handling and cornering characteristics. This setup was used for future Jaguar models since being used in the MKV.

This Example:
The MKV offered here is a 2.5L variant and is a matching numbers car which was produced in 1950. Prior to the existing owners the car was believed to be owned by a hotel and after the death of the owner it was passed on to his Sons who kept it in a basement for a long period of time. It is understood that it stayed in the same family ownership for in excess of 30 years. One son was taken to his Matric Ball in the vehicle and when sold to the current owners in 2013, a provision of sale was that that his son would be taken to his Matric Ball the following year.

The car is a good runner & is very original. On the face of it this Jaguar MKV does present well but after a detailed check over on the car it does require a degree of restoration to keep this beautiful Jaguar running for many years to come.

This example is available for viewing by appointment