Jaguar motorcars from across seven decades rolled onto the auction block at Baron's sale in Sandown Park, Surrey, on Tuesday (April 27).

After enthusiastic bidding from collectors and enthusiasts, the top lot was a silver painted nut and bolt restoration of a 1948 Jaguar 3.5 Saloon.

The Jaguar Mark IV saloon was produced by Jaguar between 1945-1949, and basically a re-launch of a pre-War 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 SS Saloon.

Naming its new range of cars Jaguar, the saloons were titled SS Jaguar 1½ litre, 2½ litre or 3½ litre alongside a two-seater sports model, the SS Jaguar 100 2½ litre, or 3½ litre.

The 1948 Jaguar 3.5 Saloon, sold for £44,100

Due to the unfortunate naming and recent history of the Waffen SS during World War Two, SS eventually dropped its name and rebranded itself Jaguar Cars Ltd in 1945.

According to Baron's, this 3.5 Saloon of 1948 vintage was originally supplied to a Melbourne, Australia dealer. It was dispatched in September 1948, only a month after its completion.

The car found its way to its Baron's auction vendor in 2008, having travelled through Netherlands via New Zealand in the interim. It was then subjected to a loving, £4,100 restoration (the bill is included in the car's file).

In a year that also marks the 75th anniversary of Jaguar/SS Cars, the historic 1948 Jaguar 3.5 Saloon sold for a final price of £44,100, including buyer's premium.