1951 Jaguar MK V 3.5L Drophead Coupe
Wearing all-pressed-steel bodywork with rear fender skirts and a distinctive tuck-in curve at the base of the rear window, the Mark V Drophead Coupé had a composed, pre-war-inflected profile that Jaguar’s postwar customers recognized as an evolution of what had come before rather than a departure from it.
The more significant changes lay in the chassis. The OHV pushrod 3.5-litre straight-six (125bhp) was carried forward from the preceding Mark IV, but the underpinnings were entirely new: independent front suspension by double wishbones and torsion bar (an arrangement Jaguar would continue across many later models), along with hydraulic brakes and a four-speed gearbox. At 3,895 lb (1,767 kg), the car reached a tested top speed of 91mph.
Launched alongside the XK120 at the 1948 London Motor Show and produced through 1951, the Mark V outsold its glamorous stablemate considerably, achieving around 5,000 sales per year against the XK120’s 2,000.
Total 3.5-litre Drophead Coupé production reached 977 across 1948-1951; just 108 were right-hand drive.
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