JAGUAR CARS: A HISTORY
From its beginnings as a manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, Jaguar Cars has grown to become one of the world’s premier manufacturers of prestigious luxury automobiles. Jaguar’s heritage and continuing tradition of elegant style, luxurious comfort and refined performance is, arguably, unique in the industry.
In 1922, William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the Swallow Sidecar Company of Blackpool, England. From sidecars, the company branched into custom-bodied automobiles and, in 1931, into its own line of performance cars branded "S.S."
The Jaguar name was first used in 1935, for the 1936 model year. Products from the factory in the English Midland city of Coventry were known as "S.S. Jaguars" until after World War II, when the name was changed simply to Jaguar.
The most famous pre-war Jaguar was the S.S. 100, a two-seat sports car, but the company had a reputation for rakish, high- performance sedans as well.
During the war, Jaguar manufactured some 10,000 motorcycle sidecars for military use and converted some of its facilities for aircraft fabrication. Aero technology developed in this period would serve the company well in later automobile design and production.
Following World War II, Jaguar continued building pre-war models until 1948, when the XK 120 sports two-seater was introduced. Revolutionary in design, the XK 120 was also the first Jaguar to use the XK twin-cam engine, Jaguar's standard powerplant until 1987.
Jaguar grew in strength and popularity with its XK sports cars and a new range of sedans starting with the Mark VII in 1951. In 1956, William Lyons was knighted for his services to the motor industry. The new world-beater from Jaguar came in 1961 when the E-type sports coupe appeared at the Geneva Motor Show. No other car in modern times caught the eye of the public in the way the E-type did. Even today, although out of production since 1974, it is frequently the model that people instantly associate with Jaguar. In 1996, The Museum of Modern Art in New York added the E-type convertible to its permanent collection, making it only the third automobile so honored.
Jaguar was one of the first British car companies to begin exporting to North America. It began shipping cars in quantity right after World War II. After several years of using distributors, Jaguar formed its own company in New York in 1954. Distributorships were also formed for Eastern and Western Canada.
Jaguar Cars merged into the British Motor Corporation in 1966. The resulting firm, British Motor Holdings, merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968, forming British Leyland Motors, which marketed Jaguars along with other British cars such as MG, Triumph and Austin. This organization continued in existence in England under various names including The Rover Group.
Jaguar became a separate, independent company with the issue of shares in July 1984. The company was acquired by Ford Motor Company in December 1989. The XK8 coupe and convertible introduced this model year were the results of the first full car program by Jaguar under Ford’s auspices.
After 19 years of production in various forms, the original XJ6 sedan was replaced in 1987 by the XJ40 series. The car featured an all-aluminum, twin-cam, 24-valve engine code-named AJ6, which replaced the original XK engine. These sedans were superseded in the 1995 model year by those code-named X300, today comprising the XJ6 and the limited-edition XJR, the first Jaguar ever to be powered by a supercharged engine. This series remains in production, joined by the longest Jaguars in history, the extended-wheelbase X330, introduced in 1966. Both the XJ6 L and the Vanden Plas are powered by the AJ16 six-cylinder 4.0-liter engine introduced in the 1995 model year and are five inches longer than the standard-wheelbase models.
The Vanden Plas gets its name from the Belgian coachbuilding firm founded by Guillaume Vanden Plas in 1870. An English branch was established in 1912, and through 1923 the company built bodies for such honored marques as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Packard, Lagonda, Delage and Bugatti. It resumed body production after World War II and later became part of the Austin Motor Company and built limousine bodies for the British royal household. In 1968, Austin and Vanden Plas became part of British Leyland Motor Corporation, and in 1974, Vanden Plas became part of Jaguar.
Jaguar's U.S. sales operation, Jaguar Cars, is based in Mahwah, New Jersey. This office is also responsible for North American operations, although Jaguar Canada Inc. is wholly dedicated to sales, marketing, service, training and parts distribution for the Canadian market from its headquarters northwest of Toronto. There are 133 dealers in the United States and 19 in Canada.
JAGUAR SPORTS CAR HERITAGE: KEY FACTS
S.S. 90/S.S. Jaguar 100
- Launched March 1935 (S.S. 90)/ October 1935 (S.S. Jaguar 100)
- S.S. Jaguar 100 priced at $1,900
- Successful in national/international competition
- 3.5-liter reached 0-60 mph in 10.5 seconds. Top speed 100 + mph
- Total build: 24 (S.S. 90) 309 (S.S. Jaguar 100)
XK 120
- Launched: Earls Court Motor Show 1948
- Launch bed for XK twin-cam 3.4-liter 160-bhp engine
- Fixed head coupe 0-60 mph in 9.9 seconds; top speed 126 mph -- fastest British production car at the time
- Priced at $5,000 (open two-seater); $6,800 (fixed head coupe)
- Launched Jaguar attack on the 24 Hours of Le Mans race (1950), spawning the XK 120C, later known as the C-type
- C-type wins at Le Mans 1951 and 1953, the latter with pioneering Dunlop disc brakes
- D-type with magnesium alloy monocoque replaces C-type at 1954 Le Mans, subsequently wins in 1955, 1956 and 1957
- Provides the first postwar opportunity for Britain to penetrate the U.S. sports car market
- Total build: 12,061
XK 140
- Launched at the Earls Court Motor Show 1954
- Upgraded XK 3.4-liter engine with 190 bhp (used in XK 120 SE)
- Priced at $4,500 (open two-seater)
- Provided more comfortable and "useable" sports car motoring with better interior space, overdrive for touring, 2+2 seating, rack and pinion steering
- Total build: 8,935
XK 150
- Launched: May 1957
- Priced at $4,919 (open two-seater)
- First British sports-car roadster to feature conventional wind-up windows and specific interior safety features, e.g. side door handles, padded dash
- The XK 150 S 3.8-liter model of 1958 with 250 bhp was the fastest production sports car in the U.K., attaining 133 mph
- Total build: 9,385
E-type
- Launched at Geneva March 1961 with XK 3.8-liter, 265-bhp engine
- Fixed head coupe and convertible
- Priced at $5,900 (open two-seater); $6,200 (fixed head coupe)
- Supercar performance at an affordable price -- 0-60 mph in 7.0 seconds; top speed 150 mph
- A direct descendent of the Le Mans-winning Jaguars of the 1950s
- Feature specification provided civilized sports car motoring, including automatic transmission option beginning in 1966 (1968 in the United States)
- Engine capacity increased to 4.2 liters/265 bhp in 1964 with increased torque
- 2+2 long-wheelbase coupe launched March 1966
- Series II launched at Earls Court in October 1968 with increased emphasis on interior safety and emissions
- Series III in 1971 saw world’s first postwar mass-production V12 engine -- 5.3-liters/272 bhp
- The V12 E-type featured a larger mouth/air intake with grille, a longer wheelbase and flared wheel arches for wider track
- Last 50 produced in 1974 commemorated by Sir William Lyons, 49 of which were painted black, and one in British Racing Green -- most valuable of all E-types
- Sold in United States through 1997 model year
- Total build: 72,529
XJS
- Launched in September 1975 as 5.3 V12 Coupe Grand Tourer. Quieter, faster, handled better and was cheaper than all competition
- Most expensive Jaguar ever to be produced up to that time -- priced at $19,758.
- Cabriolet launched with new 6-cylinder 3.6-litre 24-valve AJ6 engine developing 235 bhpb
- Fully open convertible launched at Geneva in March 1988, resulted in major increase in sales for XJS, peaking at 10,665 in 1989
- The longest-running production Jaguar sports car-- 1975 to 1996
- Most successful Jaguar sports car of all time -115,413 produced
- Production ceased April 1996
