1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon

The Jaguar Mark V was upstaged by the sensational XK 120 at the 1948 London Motor Show. The Mark V was Jaguar's bread-and-butter offering during its two-plus years, outselling the XK by more than two-to-one.

This was the second Jaguar sedan to go into production after World War II, but the first with a new chassis, and also the first to employ a Roman numeral in its nomenclature. The 1946-1948 model, for example, was not distinguished as the Mark IV until it was already out of production, and the Mark V had made its debut.

Like the XK 120, the Mark V was powered by an inline six-cylinder engine. However, it was not the XK's new dual overhead cam six-cylinder unit. The 2.5- and 3.5-liter sixes offered in the Mark V were overhead valve engines with pre-war origins. Most of the Mark V's brief production run, which lasted just 28 months, was devoted to sedans, 9492 in all. There were also 1001 convertibles. Of the sedans, 1905 were equipped with left-hand drive.

This Mark V was sold in Los Angeles by Homburg Jaguar, the first West Coast dealership anointed by company founder Sir William Lyons. It remained with its original owner for four decades, then spent over two decades in Texas.

The current owner acquired the car in 2006, and devoted almost four years to its restoration. Already a star in Jaguar Club North America events, this Mark V will make its screen debut in A New York Heartbeat, a gangster movie starring Eric Roberts.