Lot details Registration No: Un-Reg Chassis No: 612888 Mot Expiry: None
"Sleek and smart, the distinctive lines of the Jaguar Saloon make an immediate appeal to the connoisseur of fine motor cars, whilst a few moments at the wheel are sufficient to convince the most experienced motorist that here is a car with performance to give delight to the most fastidious" (Jaguar sales brochure, 1946)
Following an emergency board meeting in March 1945, Sir William Lyons' SS Jaguar concern understandably lost its prefix initials. Re-launched following the cessation of hostilities as Jaguar Cars, the company - in common with most of its peers - felt that it had little choice but to recommence production with its pre September 1939 model range (especially given the increasing pressure on steel supplies exerted by the government's export-or-die drive). Luckily for the Coventry concern, this entailed trying to sell a line up of 1.5 and larger 2.5 / 3.5 litre engined cars that still enjoyed an enviable reputation for excellent performance, good road manners and well appointed interiors. Retrospectively known as MKIVs, the two bigger capacity six-cylinder, ohv variants sat on a 120" wheelbase, their well-insulated ladder frame chassis being equipped with beam / live axle semi-elliptic sprung suspension and Girling mechanical brakes. Benefiting from a new hypoid bevel rear axle, they carried less chrome than their interwar counterparts but were still affectionately known as 'Wardour Street Bentleys'.
Finished in Gunmetal Grey with Forest Green upholstery, this particular right-hand drive example is variously described by the vendor as being in "very good" (four-speed manual gearbox, electrical equipment, chassis, bodywork, paintwork, wheels / tyres), "restored" (3485cc OHV straight-six) or "new" (interior trim) condition. Dispatched by the factory to distributors Brylaw of Melbourne (Australia) on September 6th 1948, it entered the current Dutch ownership during 2000. Apparently treated to €42,591 (approximately £30,000) worth of restoration work since then, it is said to have benefited from an extensive overhaul of its mechanics, electrics, chassis and body in 2002 (€24,409), a re-trimmed interior some twelve months later (€11,682) and an engine rebuild just last year (€6,500). Believed but not warranted to have covered 82,000 miles from new (with just 2,500 of those being added over the last six years), the seller considers the MKIV to be "very original" and to "drive very smoothly". Highly appealing, this elegant 1940s Jaguar is offered for sale with a Dutch certificate of roadworthiness (expires November 2006) and Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Production Record Trace Certificate.
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