CHAPTERS
06 JAGUAR AT 75
The introduction of the SS Jaguar in 1935.
13 WILLIAM LYONS
Profile of the founder.
14 BLACKPOOL DAYS
The start of a great enterprise.
20 VARIATIONS ON A THEME
Swallow’s other designs.
22 FIRST MODEL
Swallow makes their own model.
26 LEADING EDGE
The first Jaguar sports car.
30 POSTWAR JAGUAR
A new name and a new range.
36 JAGUAR’S XK FAMILY
The XK 120 heralded a new style.
44 C FOR COMPETITION
Jaguar challenges Le Mans and wins.
49 MALCOLM SAYER
Profile of a brilliant designer.
50 UNBASHED LUXURY
The amazing trio of large saloons.
58 JAGUAR D-TYPE
A fast new racing car for Le Mans.
62 SMALL AND NEAT
Jaguar’s first monocoque saloon.
66 JAGUAR MARK II
The most famous small Jaguar model.
74 JAGUAR’S AMAZING E-TYPE
The most famous car in the world.
81 DAIMLER’S BEST SELLER
Combining V8 power with the Mark II body.
84 SIXTIES FLAGSHIP
The largest Jaguar saloon of all.
88 LE MANS CHALLENGER
A brilliant and wonderful racer.
90 A NEW SALOON
The XJ6 ushered in a new generation of saloons.
96 the grand tourer
V12 power and styled by Sayer and Lyons.
100 WINNING STREAK
Jaguar returned to victory at Le Mans in 1988.
102 JAGUAR’S INNOVATOR
The all-new XJ40 was packed with features.
106 RETURN TO THE TOP
A new sports car with a new V8 engine.
110 THE FIRST SUPERCAR
Jaguar’s beautiful and fast XJ220.
112 DEVELOPING A POWER UNIT
The amazing XK engine profiled.
114 NEW SALOONS ARRIVE
The new generation XJ with V8 power.
116 BROWNS LANE COVENTRY
Home of some of the most famous Jaguars.
118 S-TYPE FOR A NEW GENERATION
A medium size Jaguar saloon is back.
120 NEW COMPACT
Compact All-Wheeled-Drive saloon.
122 LIGHTWEIGHT SPECIAL
Return of the XJ in aluminium.
124 A NEW STANDARD
Beautiful and fast, the new XK.
128 STUNNING GOOD LOOKS
The XF is the new benchmark.
129 LATEST INCARNATION
Jaguar’s 2010 XJ flagship.
Introduction
The name Jaguar first came to prominence just before WWII when a new luxury sporting saloon from a small British manufacturer was unveiled at the Mayfair Hotel in London. However, the man behind the name had long had a vision that he would build an enterprise which would achieve worldwide recognition. That man was William Lyons who started out making sidecars in Blackpool in the 1920s. By 1939 he had already established a specialist business that made exciting sporting motor cars. After the war he was to take the world by storm with a stunning series of sports cars from the XK 120 of 1948 to the E-Type in 1961. In between came the Le Mans-winning C-and D-Types, which were unlike anything that Italy or Germany could produce, and which cemented Jaguar’s worldwide image as a manufacturer of successful sports cars.
Lyons had an in-built sense of what the public wanted before anyone else did.
We have noted the XK 120 and E-Type, but he also produced some remarkable saloons like the ground-breaking Mark VII, the iconic Mark II and the XJ6, which was dubbed ‘the best car in the world’ when it arrived in 1968. Sir William set a high standard for his products; they had to be exciting, functional and above all good-looking. Jaguar never produced an ugly car and, as we mark the 75th anniversary of the name ‘Jaguar’, we can be proud of the latest generation Jaguars that continue to innovate, inspire and kindle passion with their style, technology and beauty. Sir William Lyons would be pleased to know that his beloved Jaguar is in safe and capable hands.
Lawrence Thomas
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