MODIFIED
Jaguar never produced a MkVII drophead coupe but that hasn’t stopped enthusiast John Lucas from creating a model that could have easily have been penned by Lyons’ own hand
FROM AN XK 150that was fitted with the rear section of a Morris Minor Traveller to an XJ-S coupe that had its roof removed and the original headlights replaced with those from a Vauxhall Corsa, I’ve driven plenty of modified Jaguars over the years. Although very different in terms of their concept and background, the one characteristic the majority had in common was their less than professional design and construction.
This largely handmade MkVII drophead coupe bucks that trend. Thanks to its elegant proportions and perfect detailing, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine it was designed by Jaguar’s chairman and chief designer, Sir William Lyons, and produced at the company’s Browns Lane factory. But that was always the target for the car’s owner and creator, John Lucas.
“What I was most mindful of,” explains John, “and especially after I discussed my plans for the car with former test driver, Norman Dewis, was if Jaguar had made a MkVII drophead coupe, it would have been built on the same production line as the XK 120 DHC and therefore shared many of the same parts and style of hood.”
Other than that it was made in 1952 and exported to America before being sold through Jaguar’s west coast agent Charles Hornburg, nothing is known about the car’s first four decades.
John bought the big saloon over 30 years ago from a Los Angeles-based dealer although it wasn’t what he initially travelled to America to buy. “It was for a MkVIII,” he tells me, “but after we did the deal, the dealer said he had another for spares which I could have for free.”
Yet the green MkVII turned out to be largely complete and rust free. “They’d taken the brightwork off it to be rechromed which was now sitting in boxes.”
John soon sold the MkVIII since he preferred the older model, but it would take another 30 years before he turned his attention to it. For some reason – and he can’t totally explain why – he decided to transform the car into a drophead coupe. “I’ve always had a thing for two-door coupes,” he discloses. “And in my opinion, when you look at the MkVII, VIII or IX, their design is too cluttered. Plus, by not being big saloons, the doors are too short, and they have limited interior room.”
Following the drophead coupe version of the earlier MkV, Jaguar built two prototype MkVIIs in a similar style (chassis 750001 and 750002). But despite famed body engineer Cyril Crouch designing a poweroperated hood as well as the potential popularity of such a model in America, the project came to nothing.
Although the car needed significant amounts of work to transform it into a c
