New Arrival – Jaguar Mk VII
Source: Wikipedia Theย Jaguar Mark VIIย is a four-door luxury car produced byย Jaguar Carsย ofย Coventryย from 1951 to 1956. Launched at the 1950ย British International Motor Showย as the successor to
Source: Wikipedia Theย Jaguar Mark VIIย is a four-door luxury car produced byย Jaguar Carsย ofย Coventryย from 1951 to 1956. Launched at the 1950ย British International Motor Showย as the successor to
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]John and Craig were in bright and early this morning. It was 6:30am and the sun was starting to rise through the clouds. It was
Peter has been busy working on the re-commissioning of our 1934 Austin 10. Today he has managed to strip the brakes and rebuild them with
Theย Jaguar Mark VIIย is a four-door luxury car produced byย Jaguar Carsย ofย Coventryย from 1951 to 1956. Launched at the 1950ย British International Motor Showย as the successor to theย Jaguar Mark V, it was called the Mark VII because there was already a Bentley Mark VI on the market.[citation needed]ย A version of the Jaguar Mark V with theย XK engineย had been designated as the Mark VI, but it is thought that only two were built.
In its original 1950 form the Mark VII could exceed 100ย mph, and in 1952 it became the first Jaguar to be made available with an optional automatic transmission.
Mark VIIs were successful inย racingย andย rallying.
Mark VII 1950โ1954
The Mark VII chassis came from theย Jaguar Mark Vย and the wheelbase remained the same at 10 feet (3,048.0ย mm). The new model’s body looked more streamlined, with integrated headlights and mudguards, a two-piece windscreen, and longer rear overhang. As on the Mark V, the rear wheels were partially covered by removableย spats.
Whereas the Mark V had a prewarย pushrod engineย originally developed by theย Standard Motor Company, the Mark VII was powered by the newly developedย XK engine. First seen in production form in the 1948ย XK120, the 3442 ccย DOHCย straight-sixย provided 160ย bhp (119.3ย kW), the same as in the XK120, and theย saloon’s claimed top speed was over 100ย mph (160ย km/h).
When the car was being developed Jaguar thought it would find most of its customers overseas, mainly because UK car tax at that time penalised buyers of larger-engined cars. However it went into production just asย Britain’s postwar economic austerityย began to ease, and in 1951 the car’s enthusiastic reception in both the British and American markets prompted Jaguar to relocate production to larger premises, at theย Browns Lane plant, which had been built for wartime production as aย shadow factoryย and was now available for immediate use.
The published performance figures for the Mark VII were based on the standard 8:1ย compression ratio, but as this was unsuitable for the UK market’s low-octaneย Pool petrolย a 7:1 engine was optional.Brit ish motoring magazines tested the car’s performance with the higher compression ratio, using theย Ostendย toย Brusselsย autoroute in Belgium, where 80 octane fuel was available. A Mark VII tested byย The Motorย in 1952 had a top speed of 101ย mph (163ย km/h), accelerated from 0โ60ย mph (97ย km/h) in 13.7ย seconds and returned 17.6 miles per imperial gallon (16.1ย L/100ย km; 14.7ย mpgโUS). The test car cost ยฃ1693 including taxes.
In 1952 the Mark VII became the first Jaguar to be offered with automatic transmission.
By the time the model was upgraded to M specification in 1954, 20,908 had been produced.
Mark VII M 1954โ1956
The Mark VII M was launched at the British International Motor Show in October 1954. Although the engine continued with the same capacity and 8:1 compression ratio, it was uprated to 190ย bhp (141.7ย kW), giving the car a claimed top speed of 104ย mph (167ย km/h).
The four-speed manual gearbox was standard, while theย Borg Warnerย automatic, hitherto available only on exported Mark VIIs, now became optional for British buyers.
Jaguar Mark VII M
Distinguishing the Mark VII M from its predecessor, circular grilles over theย hornsย were installed below the headlights in place of the former integrated auxiliary lamps, which were moved slightly further apart and mounted on the bumper. Both bumpers now wrapped further around the sides of the car.
In 1956, with the advent of theย Suez Crisisย Britain anticipated fuel rationing, andย bubble carsย appeared on the streets. Jaguar switched focus to their smaller saloons (theย Mark I 2.4ย had been introduced in 1955), and neither the Mark VII M nor any of its increasingly powerful but fuel-thirsty successors would match the production volumes of the original Jaguar Mark VII. Nevertheless, before it was superseded by theย Mark VIII, the Mark VII M achieved 10,061 sales during its two-year production run.
Racing and rallying
Both variants of the Mark VII won race victories,[8]ย and an M version won a Monte Carlo Rally.
In 1954 Jaguar built a lightweight Mark VII M which, although intended for racing, never participated in contemporary events. Road-registered KRW 621, it had magnesium body panels,ย D-typeengine, Dunlop disc brakes and modified suspension.[10]
Factory-entered Mark VIIs won the Daily Express International Trophy Production Touring Car race at Silverstone five years running, and twice took the top three places.ย Stirling Mossย won in 1952 and 1953;ย Ian Appleyardย in 1954, withย Tony Roltย and Stirling Moss 2nd and 3rd;ย Mike Hawthornย in 1955, from his teammatesย Jimmy Stewartย andย Desmond Titteringtonย in 2nd and 3rd; andย Ivor Buebย in 1956, with Belgian journalist and racing driverย Paul Frรจreย taking 4th.
In January 1956 a Mark VII M driven byย Ronnie Adams, Frank Biggar, and Derek Johnstone won theย Monte Carlo Rally.
In August 1956, atย Road America, inย Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin,ย Paul Goldsmith’s Mark VII averaged 59.2ย mph to win a 100-mileย NASCARย Grand National race for cars up to 3500 cc.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]John and Craig were in bright and early this morning. It was 6:30am and the sun was starting to rise through the clouds. It was a lovely crisp morning, the roads were beautifully peacefulย and whilst we waited for our visitor Craig took the opportunity to enjoy a quick drive out in our Jaguar XK150.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”22637,22636,22635,22634,22633,22632,22631,22630,22629,22628,22627,22626,22625,22624,22623,22622,22621,22620,22619,22618,22617,22616,22615,22614,22613,22612,22611,22610,22609,22608,22607,22606,22605,22604,22603,22602″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Peter has been busy working on the re-commissioning of our 1934 Austin 10. Today he has managed to strip the brakes and rebuild them with new shoes all round.
Thank you to the guys at Alderton Austin Specialistsย who kindly supplied all of the parts required for our re-commissioning project.
Alderton Austin Specialistsย specialise in all things Austin.
Servicing, repairs and restorationโฆ
New and used sparesโฆ they have a huge stock of new used components to keep your Austin in tip-top condition. They stock parts for the Austin Seven, 10/4, Light 12/4 and 12/6.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
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