This car is a very late 1½ litre SE Saloon, built on 17^th November 1948 and despatched to Henlys in London on 1^st December. These cars were never officially sold as ‘Mark IV’ and this name was applied retrospectively following the launch of its replacement, the Mark V, at the end of 1948. This car can be viewed as a ‘cross-over’ vehicle as it features a number of items from the new model, most notably the bumpers and the hidden fuel filler. Its first owner, a retiring sea captain, who ordered it painted ‘Battleship Grey’, made a number of changes to the car – adding wind deflectors to the front doors, and extending the lower corners of the front wings.

The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust bought this car in January 2022 off a retired engineer who had completed a meticulous restoration taking over three years and almost 3,800 hours work. He removed all the old paint by hand and prepped it for a full respray. All mechanical parts were re-furbished, a new wiring loom was made up, brightwork was re-chromed where necessary, and re-fitted. The leather seats and trim were thoroughly cleaned and revived, although the carpet did have to be replaced. Having completed the restoration he wanted the car to go to a good home where his efforts, and the car’s history, would be appreciated, so he approached the JDHT as we did not have a Mark IV in our Collection.  Following an inspection and road test, a price was agreed and the car arrived at Gaydon in the last week of February 2022.

The 1½, 2½ and 3½ litre Saloons were re-launched in 1945 after the end of the war. They were reworked versions of the pre-war SS Jaguar Saloons although the SS name had now been dropped. They remained in production until 1948 and the 1½ litre (actually 1,776 cc), was the most numerous of the three variants with 11,952 being built.

The chassis and body remained largely unchanged. They were still powered by versions of the pre-war Standard engines but a hypoid bevel rear axle was fitted, lowering the prop-shaft by 2 in (5.1 cm) increasing available rear seat space and rear leg-room. The car was listed as having ‘air-conditioning’ which was merely a fairly effective heater. The brakes remained rod operated although new bigger Millenite cast-iron brake drums and twin leading shoe Girling brakes improved the braking capability.

The 1½ litre accelerated from 0-62 mph in 25.1 seconds, could reach a top speed of 75 mph (120 kph) and returned 25 – 27 mpg.