1955 Jaguar Mark VIIM Saloon

Footnotes

Work on Jaguar's advanced new saloon had been interrupted by the war, and in 1948 elements of the proposed newcomer made their first appearance in other models: the twin-overhead-camshaft engine in the XK120 sports car, and the chassis design in the interim Mark V saloon. It was not until 1950 that the two were combined in the Mark VII, which would be the first of a family of high-performance luxury saloons that would culminate with Mark IX.

A considerable improvement on what had gone before, the Mark VII's cruciform-braced chassis featured torsion-bar independent front suspension and all-round hydraulic brakes. The 3.4-litre 'six' had already demonstrated its prowess in the XK120 and proved capable of propelling the Mark VII's not inconsiderable bulk past 100mph. Priced at a mere 40% of its Bentley Mark VI rival, but available at first only for export, the Mark VII was a big hit in the USA, that market's demands prompting the introduction of an automatic transmission option in 1953. Two years later the model was revised as the Mark VIIM, with maximum power increased from 160 to 190bhp.

One of slightly more than 10,000 Mark VII saloons produced, this example has its original old log book showing that it was initially registered to M Lipton Ltd, London. The first change appears to be when Mr Max Lipton bought the car out of the company and registered in his personal name. Mr Lipton then passed the car on in 1966 to Achille Attard-Montal, who it is thought was Mr Lipton's chauffeur. Mr Attard-Montal was to keep the car for many years, subsequently being acquired by the current owner in 2007.

The Jaguar has covered a believed genuine 8,800 miles from new and, although there is no documentary evidence to support this, the condition and originality of the car, and the MoTs lend credence to this belief. The oldest of the 15 MoTs on file, issued in 1978, records the mileage at that time as 6,957, while the most recent (2007) records it as 8,441. The car also comes with a V5 registration document and the aforementioned old log book.

The present owner is a noted collector who has a particular passion for the Jaguar marque, with respected Jaguar specialists CKL Developments looking after his équippe, including this wonderful Mark VII.