For the passing observer, old cars just seem to blend into each other or fall into cliché. Take this Jaguar MkVIIM for example; ostensibly a luxury cruiser to be sedately and delicately guided around modern hazards. Or something preserved just for show, resplendent but immobile for the many who chance across it briefly.
But to be precious with this fine old specimen is to deny one’s self the fullest of the pleasure it can deliver.
Jaguar’s first new postwar models appeared in 1948. The MkV four-door saloon, two-door fixed-head and drophead models were based on pre-war shapes and engines, albeit with a new chassis featuring independent front suspension.
While the MkV served its purpose well, it was overshadowed by the XK120. A small roadster and coupe with a shape inspired by racing BMW 328 bodies seen just as the war had taken hold. The Jaguar was arguably prettier than its influence, but its sensational presence was also fed by what lurked under the hood.
The XK unit was a revelation, becoming a mainstay for the company until well into the 1980s and equally at home in a road car or Le Mans warrior. This straight six featured a set of overhead camshafts inspired by racing motorcycles and Grand Prix cars and an aluminium hemi head, and was fitted to the XK120 as a 3.4 litre unit.
While it could theoretically have been put into the MkV, the XK engine’s saloon debut would come with the next model.
The MkVII was to be styled by company founder William Lyons, centre.
From its beginnings manufacturing sidecar bodies, Lyons had determined aesthetics be of the utmost importance. He himself would be directly responsible for all model shapes right through to the XJ saloon of 1968.
What’s curious is that no drawings seem to exist for any of these Jaguar bodies, and I have been curious for a long time as too how Lyons actually came to his shapes. The MkVII gives us some insight into his methods.
As per many other manufacturers a scale model was prepared first.
But most of the work occurred at full scale.
Lyons insisted on seeing proposals outdoors and painted in polished black – the most unforgiving colour. He would walk around it, sometimes saying nothing for up to an hour as he processed what he was seeing.
For this Lyons relied on Fred Gardner who was in charge of the sawmill. Lyons was also heavily reliant upon one particular sheet metal worker (whose name is lost to history), and when this individual left he went through at least 20 more until another sympathetic to his highly acuitive needs was found.
Above we can see how this approach marked the MkVII’s progress; at top the front wings terminate in the front doors and beneath a straight-through wingline is considered.
These two images are more telling as to Lyons’ technique. The side treatment is now a sort of compromise between the two previous iterations, the front wing dipping down but flowing all the way through to the rear wing.
It looks like a set of photo collages but it’s actually sections of differing profiles being applied. To my eyes completely distracting but perhaps this is how Lyons was able to determine the final details once the general approach had been determined.
On the actual production model, the wings followed the previous approach, but with a higher treatment. And it was gorgeous. It still harked back to the pre-war idiom, but the 1950-released MkVII shape was decidedly more modern than the MkV it was replacing.
A two-door four seater drophead prototype was also prepared, but not produced. Apparently another utterly gorgeous shape, there would appear to be no surviving photos of it.
What’s sometimes forgotten about Jaguar cars from this period is how relatively cheap they were. The MkVII was sold in the UK for £1,276, whereas the Bentley MkVI above cost £4,474. While it cannot be argued that the Jaguar was exactly on par with the Bentley and Rolls-Royce, the disparity in quality was in no way reflective of the disparity in price.
In some ways, Jaguar can be said to have set the prestige sector value-packaging template for Lexus many, many years later.
As with the MkV, this model was destined for export including the lucrative US market. It was shown in New York and £30 million of orders were taken. From less than 10% in 1938, by 1951 exports had grown to 84% of Jaguar’s output.
Such was the success of Jaguar’s postwar efforts, a new production line was established at the company’s Browns Lane WW2 shadow factory in 1951. This would be the location for the disastrous 1957 fire from which the firm was able to quickly move past.
The Autocar dubbed the MkVII ‘Prima Ballerina’. And that was only after seeing it at the Earls Court Motor Show.
With its nimble chassis and superb engine, this seemingly luxurious tourer was also very capable on its feet. Here it is in the hands of Stirling Moss on its way to one of five successive Silverstone touring car victories between 1952 and 1956. The MkVII also managed to earn its drivers the team prize for the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally, as well as outright victory in 1956.
In 1954, the model was upgraded to MkVIIM specification. High-lift cams increased engine output from 160 bhp to 190 bhp. 0-60 mph went from 14.3 to 13.7 seconds, and top speed increased from 101 mph to 104 mph.
The MkVIIM was differentiated from the earlier version by its fog lamps moving slightly outboard, and in their place were horn grilles. Turning signals were also added low on the front wings.
October 1956 saw the MkVIII. This was largely a cosmetic upgrade, and was most easily discerned by its one-piece windscreen.
The final iteration was the late 1958 MkIX. For this, the engine had been enlarged to 3.8 litres, giving a 0-60 of 11.3 s and top speed of 114 mph, and disc brakes were now fitted.
In 1961 the MkIX was replaced with a completely new model.
These models seem to epitomise the Jaguar saloon perhaps more than any other, including the XJ.
As for the wheel spats, it’s a matter of taste (or needs).
Our hero CC chose not to wear them and appeared more purposeful as a result.
I had the opportunity for a brief chat with its driver who mentioned that he had saved it from the wreckers. His daughter was beaming from the passenger seat and both appeared to be thoroughly enjoying this masterful exercise in grandeur, aesthetics and performance.
It was a pleasure to watch it glide into the congestion of Camberwell Junction with complete poise.
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Further Reading
William Lyons and Jaguar by Roger Carr
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The styling must have looked a bit old-fashioned by the end of the 50s but I am not sure the Mark X was an aesthetic improvement. This family of Jags is certainly a rare sight in my locality (~8 hours up the Hume Hwy from Don’s example) and if you see one it will most likely be white and en route to a wedding.
MkX is one of my favourite shapes, but I understand it’s not everyone’s cuppa.
Have you walked around one, and seen it from the wrong angle ?
What a great find and read, thanks for this Don. The insight into Lyons styling procedures was quite interesting to me. Thanks for taking the time to provide some history on these cars and to dig up all the great photos.
Appreciated Vince
Usual standard, Proffessore. Wonderful.
Sandy Stone always mentioned having “a bit of trouble parking the vehicle at the Junction”, and this Fat Cat would be joyless in close confines, but I never envisaged Australia’s dullest man (and Barry Humphries funniest creation) owning something so Flash Harry. Not his descendant you spoke to, then. (Barry Humphries is best known for Dame Edna, CCer’s).
I’ve never seen one spatless before. Must say it looks less “purposeful” than it does a bit “wrong-length trousers”, really.
But fully dressed, they are quite magnificent. I have serious doubts they were meaningfully lesser quality than a Bentley, whose cars might well have been above the standard of small English cars for durability, but still doing no more miles than the Jag before a rebuild being necessary. As for style, these are arguably as good as a Silver Cloud (and simply in another dimension from that awful post-war Standard Steel wardrobe jobbie).
It’s hard to believe these 3,700 pounders were such good road cars, even when Ferraris still had leaf springs and lever dampers. I reckon they just had an enormously tuneable engine, and available racing drivers who were undoubtedly hugely skilled but who also had bigger testicles than legs.
I have pondered before how Lyons, a mechanical engineer and not an artist, was able to get artisans to translate what he saw in mind’s eye. This article gives a tantalizing glimpse. Grazie.
Wrong-length trousers a most apt analogy. Mark 2 attempted to get around this, but ended up with oversized trouser cuffs.
An excellent tutorial for a Wednesday morning, and a beautiful one as well. These really were lovely to look at, I too am fascinated by Lyons’ methods.
And that engine! It is easy to forget that the 180-190 horsepower range of the early 1950s is where the very best of the new American V8s sat. The 1951 Chrysler Firepower hemi was 180 bhp at its introduction, and was the most powerful stock car built in the US. That Jag 6 was really a marvel.
I have really come to appreciate what a powerful bargain the Jag was in this era.
The reason exports went from 10% prewar to 84% in the early ’50s had everything to do with how resources were allocated by the British government based on manufacturers’ abilities to export in order to help England pay war debts and rebuild.
The name MkVIIM hurts my brain. It cries out for some spacing, or else it should have been written MkCMXCIII.
Yes, but those govt demands were easing by 1950. It was a canny move for companies such as Jaguar and Rover who could churn out product of a global standard, but the death knell for the more mediocre UK manufacturers.
Splendid!
These cars were not uncommon during my childhood years in the US in the 60s, and I took every opportunity at a sighting to gaze at their statuesque exteriors as well as their wood and leather interiors. They were such a lovely contrast to the big American cars at the time, anachronistic in their design, but still very much in possession of their powers. Their height alone gave them a decided air of superiority.
I’m going to repeat myself, but Jaguar utterly dominated the US luxury import sector in the ’50s, which Mercedes stole away from them in the ’60s.
Yes. I have to blame my beloved 1961+ MkX for that decline, especially when you consider the E-type came out that very same year and was such an aspirational success.
I worked up the.street from the owner in Hawthorn East, he also has a 1990’s XKR coupe in British Racing Green. Interesting that there are some styling trends from the Mark VI in the XKR.
Nice read
I think it would look better with the spats on.
I remember riding in one in maybe 1952, my cousin at the wheel ( it was his fathers’ car) and he was chatting to my dad – on whose lap I sat. They were making the point that the “yanks” were buying lots of these – but I had no idea what “yanks” were ( possibly a variety of monks……). My eyes were glued to the radio speaker ahead of the gearstick – I had never seen car-radio before.
The obvious difference with the Mk 9 was the tarted-up exterior, to disguise the dated styling.
I’ve never spannered a Royce, but I’ve spannered a Jag, and could see areas where they saved money. Good value for money nevertheless.
Quite a few Victorians chiming in, so I’ll add my bit. I remember seeing these beautiful cars at the inter-school sports, where lower-class Elwood (where I attended) was in the same league as Brighton, perhaps the second most prestigious Melbourne suburb. The car park contained a lot of Jaguars, and I was captivated by the beauty of these cars long before I knew anything of what was under the bonnet. Whether the pre-war designs, the Mark V or the VII/VIII/IX, there was just something about a Jaguar that marked it out as being in another league compared to Dad’s Morris Oxford, or the Falcon that replaced it.
I’ve been studying your photos, Don, and I think the genius in this design is how the curve of the fender line parallels the curve of the window line and roof – there’s something immensely satisfying about the result. And fancy Sir William doing this in full-scale, without all the fancy studio gear and huge staff the American manufacturers were using. Just amazing.
Nice point about the rear fender echoing the roofline Pete. Same roofline on the MkV. Funny thing is, when I look at the MkV I think it’s the better shape, then when I look at the MkVII I think that one is the better shape. Go figure.
Even the first mid-thirties SS Jaguar saloon had looks that would stop you in your tracks.
Thank’s for a terrific post with those great development photos! I’ve read many articles in magazines and on line and have never seen most of those photos. The Mark VII was a trendsetter in mechanical and chassis developments. DOHC alloy head, dual carb, dual exhaust straight six. 12 inch dual leading front shoe brakes, front torsion bar, ball joint suspension and all round disc brakes within a few years. Styling was a modern update of the Mark 5 but retained traditional British styling cues. Jaguar moved on from this styling with the introduction of the Mark X. Rolls and Bentley maintained the traditional look well into the late 1960s.
These cars have not been highly valued in the past, and many were parted out to provide components for more desirable XK 120, 140 and 150 models. The interior trim and upholstery is expensive to restore, and there is a lot of volume to account for.
I have hopes of refurbishing my own 1951 Mark VII, but I have to do this in my usual low buck, DIY manner. It’s going to take awhile. Currently my emphasis is in preserving it until then.
Interestingly lowly Hillmans had twin leading shoe front brakes by the time the MK7 appeared, Brirish industry standard
Here’s the photo.
Love em the high school I went to had a boarding facility and the sports field behind the student hostel had teacher housing around it edges one particular biology master was a Jag nutter, he has among others a MK7 4 speed with overdrive(not standard) a tuned 3.4 engine no grille or bumper the spats were gone as was the exterior trim it was heading for a paint job but having just aquired a MK8 in mint condition he wanted to sell the MK7 $300 was the asking price, he took 3 ofus on a test flight the speedo waved about some so the speed we hit wasnt quite clear but it did 6000rpm in 4th overdrive calculated to 115mph, the engine was not stock however none of us bought it a freshly minted english teacher got it and got it painted a very dark green and hung all the chrome back on the car looked magnificent, and it was fast. Jaguars were common in 60s 70s NZ where I grew up there is a now world reknowned Jaguar wrecking yard in the district so parts and competent service were not an issue most of the local hippies drove old Jags they were dirt cheap to buy very robust and easy to keep running though quite savage on fuel unless you are gentle with the throttle, but wheres the fun in that.
Rather Reminiscent in looks, performance and attitude of the last generation Lincoln Town Car.
She will be with me until the day I take my last breath ……….
Coming a bit late but….
…still a very beautiful car but it needs the rear wheel spats, as the rear wheels look a bit lost without. IMHO.
Great write up Don – I love those full size model photos and the alternative profiles. Some clearly worked better than others.
I’m not clear which car is in picture 5, if indeed it is a specific car, but you can see the BMW influence easily enough.