Jaguar Mark VII

Infobox Automobile


name =Jaguar Mark VII
Jaguar Mark VII M
manufacturer=Jaguar Cars
production =1951–1956 30,969 produced
predecessor =Jaguar Mark V
successor =Jaguar Mark VIII
body_style =4-door sedan
class =Large luxury car
length = Auto in|196.5|0
width = Auto in|73|0
wheelbase =Auto in|120|0 cite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2]
weight =Auto lb|3696|0 MK VII
Auto lb|3724|0 MK VII M
engine =3442 cc I6 ,
convert|160|bhp|1|abbr=on
"((1951 - 1954)"
3442 cc I6,
convert|190|bhp|1|abbr=on
"(1954 - 1956)"

Jaguar Mk VII 1950 - 1954

The Jaguar Mark VII was a large four door sports sedan launched by Jaguar Cars of Coventry at the 1950 London Motor Show. The chassis came from the Jaguar Mark V with which the Mark VII shared its convert|10|ft|mm|1 wheelbase. But for this latest offering Jaguar designed a modern and streamlined looking body, featuring fully integrated headlights and mudguards along with an increased rear overhang which gave the car enhanced presence. As on the Mark V, the upper part of the rear wheels was covered by the body work. In place of its predecessor's flat windscreen, the Mark VII design included a two piece front screen, adumbrating the gently curved one piece screen that would become available in successor models.

The 3442 cc straight six engine provided the same convert|160|bhp|1|abbr=onpower output in this application as in the Mark VII's sports car contemporary. Despite its size, a top speed in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h) was claimed.

The Jaguar Mark VII's arrival coincided with some relaxation of the the desperate economic situation that pervaded Britain after the war. By the time of the models' 1954 upgrade, 20,908 had been produced.cite book |last=Sedgwick |first= Michael|coauthors=Gillies |title=A-Z of cars 1945-1970 |year=1993 |publisher=Bay View Books |location=UK |id=ISBN 1-870979-39-7]

A car tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1952 had a top speed of convert|101|mph|km/h|abbr=on and could accelerate from 0-convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on in 13.7 seconds. A fuel consumption of convert|17.6|mpgimp|L/100 km mpgus was recorded. The test car cost £1693 including taxes. cite journal | authorlink = Unsigned |title = The Jaguar Mark VII saloon| journal =The Motor| volume = | pages = | date = April 16 1952]

Jaguar Mk VII M 1954 - 1956

British manufacturers in the 1950s generally launched new models at the London Motor Show which took place in October: at the 1954 motor show Jaguar presented the Mark VII M. The engine was of the same size and had the same 8:1 compression ratio, but now the power output was convert|190|bhp|1|abbr=on permitting a claimed top speed of 104 mph (167 km/h). The standard transmission remained a four speed manual gear box: additionally the three speed Borg Warner automatic, introduced in 1953 but hitherto available only on exported cars, became an option for British buyers.

Early in 1956 a Mark VII won the Monte Carlo rallycite book |last=Georgano (Ed) |first= G N|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Complete Encyclopaedia of Motorcars 1885 - 1968|year=1968 |publisher=Ebury Press |location=London |id=] . During the next few years big Jaguar sedans would play a leading part in British saloon car racing.

One year after presenting the Mark VII M, Jaguar introduced their elegant smaller 2.4 model. In 1956 the Suez Crisis broke. Talk in Britain was of a return to fuel rationing: bubble cars appeared on the streets. For Jaguar the focus switched towards the middle weight saloons, and neither the Mark VII M nor any of its increasingly powerful but thirsty direct successors would match the production volumes of the original Jaguar Mark VII. Nevertheless, before giving way to the Mark VIII, the Mark VII M notched up 10,061 sales during its two year production run.

No Jaguar Mk VI

The Jaguar Mark VII had replaced the Jaguar Mark V. A high powered version of the Jaguar Mark V had been designated the Jaguar Mark VI, but it is thought that only two of these were builtcite book |last=Culshaw |first= |authorlink= |coauthors=Horrobin |title=Complete Catalogue of British Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |id=ISBN 0-333-16689-2] .

ources

*Schrader, Halwart: Typenkompass Jaguar - Personenwagen seit 1931, Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart (2001), ISBN 3-613-02106-4

*Stertkamp, Heiner: Jaguar - Die komplette Chronik von 1922 bis heute, 2. Auflage, Heel-Verlag (2006), ISBN 3-89880-337-6

References