Jaguar the Evolution of a Classic Luxury Car
Jaguar automobiles have always been arguably regarded as some of the most stylishly beautiful vehicles in the world. This carmaker has been around since 1935, and the brand is produced in Coventry, England. However, to learn about the beginnings of this classic make, one must turn the page all the way back to 1922.
William Lyonsand William Walmsley began building motorcycle sidecars that year under the name of the Swallow Sidecar Company. By 1928, this company began to construct coachwork for established brands such as Fiat, Alvis, and Austin. Lyons in particular got bored with having to be limited to the styling restrictions of these brands, so he designed and developed his own complete automobiles. Initially, this new car was called the SS.
Automotive publications of the day began to take notice of the SS, and this resulted in rave reviews. Once this occurred, Lyons decided that his car needed a better name that would stick in the minds of car enthusiasts. Instead of naming the car after himself like Porsche, Bugatti, Bentley, and others had done, he came up with Jaguar. Thus, the first car to carry the Jaguar moniker was the 1935 SS 100. Soon , more than 5000 Jaguars were being produced annually. For the time, that was an impressive number.
Then World War II broke out, and just as with many other counties, England ceased car production to focus on military vehicles. Once the war ended, automotive manufacturing resumed.
The first post-war Jaguar would come to be known as the Mark IV. It was also at this time that the SS name was dropped altogether in light of the Nazis’ use of these initials, and the company name was officially changed to Jaguar Cars, LTD.
In 1948, the first Jaguar sports cars were produced. This resulted in the beautiful-looking XK-120, a two-seater with a hemispherical cylinder head, twin overhead cams, and a top speed of 120 miles per hour. These were later followed by upgraded XK-140 and XK-150 models.
By the 1950s, Lyons also expanded the Jaguar line into motor racing. Both the C-Type and D-Type were built specifically for LeMans. Jaguar placed many victories in this renowned event, but then Lyons’ son was killed en route to the 1955 race. William then completely pulled Jaguar out of the racing circuit. Interestingly, a few of the D-Types were sold as street cars and are very rare and collectible today.
In the latter part of the 1950s, Lyons developed the Mark 1, and just before 1960, the Mark 2. These were also gorgeous cars that are very collectible today. In 1961, an automotive icon was born.
The E-Type sports car was designed by Malcom Sayer and would become Jaguar’s trademark legend. From 1961-1974, 72,500 of these cars were built. Regardless of what brand of car they may own, many automobile enthusiasts the world over are in agreement that the Jaguar E-Type was the best-looking car to ever be produced.
Following economic woes in England , Jaguar merged with British Leyland Motors in 1968. By the 1980s, Jaguar became independent again, but not for long. Unfortunately, the XJ line that followed the classic E-Types developed a reputation of poor build quality that drove customers away. Electrical and engine-cooling problems made these cars a literal nightmare to own.
Ford Motor Companybought Jaguar and assumed full ownership by 1990. In 1997, the XK-8 a sports coupe with a convertible option very reminiscent of the classic E-Type, was released. In 2000, the S-Type, with retro styling cues from the Mark 1s and 2s of the 1950s, was launched. By 2002, Ford attempted to launch a less-expensive entry model into the lineup, and it was known as the X-Type. Purists didn’t go for it, because this car was essentially a Ford Mondeo ( Contour in the US) with a Jaguar badge. Oddly, and in a clear case of biased reviewers leaning in one direction or another, this period of time saw greatly mixed assessments of Jaguar cars. Depending on the publication, they were either tops in customer satisfaction and initial quality or they were unreliable pieces of junk. The X and S Types were eventually dropped and replaced with the XF models, which experience an abrupt departure from traditional Jaguar styling. They are decidedly nice-looking cars, but fail to turn heads as previous models did.
In the latter part of the 21sr century’s first decade, the US auto industry suffered a tremendous downturn. While Chrysler and General Motors had to turn to the government for financial bailouts, Ford managed to avoid this, but at a price. They sold off all of their subsidiary companies, including Jaguar.
In 2008 Tata Motors, based in India, acquired Jaguar. Throughout the carmaker’s 77-year history, the British heritage has never been forgotten.
