Chassis No. 637053
Engine No. T9234
Body No. C1056

It's a perfectly British thing to do. After years of war and the resulting rationing and hardship, those at the newly renamed Jaguar Cars Ltd. simply went back to work in 1945. Smartly, they chose to continue making their successful and elegant line of saloons, now widely known as the “Mark IV,” with engine sizes available in 1 ½, 2 ½ , and 3 ½ -liter displacement. Naturally, the 3 ½-liter overhead valve engine was the one to have, with the stout inline-six cylinder good for 125 horsepower and a 100 mph top speed. In addition to the three different engine sizes, Sir William Lyons' company offered these models as both a four-door “Sports Saloon” or a two-door convertible body called a Drop Head Coupe. The Drop Head Coupe design provided the wind-in-the-hair experience well known to Lyons from his earliest pre-war days creating bespoke motorcycle and sidecar designs.

According to Jaguar Heritage Trust, this 3 ½-Litre Mark IV Drop Head Coupe chassis number 637053 was produced on 11 March 1948 and first sold as a left-hand-drive example through International Motors in Los Angeles, California. Originally finished in Birch Grey with Gunmetal hood over a Silver interior with Black trim, after a comprehensive restoration, it wears a fetching all-white livery with dark red Connolly leather and carpeting. The exterior features all the jewelry expected on a post-war luxury car including chromed knock-off wire wheels with whitewall tires, landau bars, and large Lucas headlamps and auxiliary lighting. The interior, with seating for five, has been smartly restored in tan leather with an appropriately matched three-position beige soft top. Correct Smiths gauges are set into a burlwood dashboard, with additional wood trim surrounding the windshield and door tops. A toolkit is exquisitely integrated into the trunk lid and two reproduction driver's Instruction Books complete the amenities.

With a known California history dating back nearly 45 years, this rare 3 ½-Litre Mark IV Drop Head Coupe joined some of the finest restored automobiles in the world at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In 2015 this exceptional post-war Jaguar joined two XK 120s and an E-Type in the Academy of Art University Collection in 2015. It quickly made its show debut under AAU stewardship that year at the Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance with just 366 miles since its thorough restoration. Jaguar Mark IV's, especially well-restored examples in 3 ½-Litre specification with the rare, flowing Drophead Coupe coachwork with seating for five, are the epitome of the space, grace, and pace for which post-war Jaguars are known.