Jaguar Mk V
Jaguar Cars - as William Lyons SS company had been re-named in 1945 - commenced post-war production with a range of essentially pre-war designs. A considerable improvement on what had gone before, the MkV saloons cruciform-braced chassis featured torsion bar independent front suspension, designed pre-war by the companys Chief Engineer William Heynes, and all-round hydraulic brakes. Jaguars existing Standard-based, six-cylinder, overhead-valve engine was continued in both 2.5- and 3.5-litre forms in the Jaguar Mark V, whose bodywork likewise maintained the pre-war tradition, though with minor up-dating in the form of faired-in headlamps, deeper bumpers, and rear wheel spats. Like its immediate predecessor, the MkV was available in saloon or drophead coup versions and featured the kind of luxuriously appointed interior that had become a Jaguar hallmark. The announcement of Jaguars first new generation post-war saloon - the MkVII - at the 1950 Motor show signalled the end for the MkV, production ceasing in June 1951 after slightly fewer than 10,500 had been built.