Winner of countless races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans a stunning seven times, Jaguar’s design and engineering prowess is renowned.

Its line of luxury saloons however, whose sales helped finance the marque’s racing dominance, often remain off the radar for all but the most discerning enthusiasts.

Sporting saloon cars were the preferred focus of Jaguar founder, Sir William Lyons.

Throughout World War II, he and his engineers worked to design a new engine to power his vision.

The first iteration of the XK engine was finished in 1948.

To showcase his revolutionary double overhead camshaft, inline, six-cylinder engine, Lyons cloaked it in a supposedly one-off concept sports car, the XK120.

While 1948 is remembered for the XK120, the year also saw the debut of a new line of elegant saloons, the Jaguar Mark V.

While the line initially sported Jaguar’s pre-war pushrod engine, the debut of the Mark VII in 1951 saw the race-proven XK engine’s become standard equipment.

In 1956, th...