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Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational
car manufacturer This is a list of notable automobile manufacturers with articles on Wikipedia by country. It includes companies that are in business as well as defunct manufacturers. Only companies that have articles here are included. A Algeria * SNVI ...
with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars until its operations were fully merged with those of Land Rover to form Jaguar Land Rover on 1 January 2013. Jaguar's business was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars before developing bodies for passenger cars. Under the ownership of S. S. Cars Limited, the business extended to complete cars made in association with Standard Motor Co, many bearing ''Jaguar'' as a model name. The company's name was changed from S. S. Cars to Jaguar Cars in 1945. A merger with the
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...
followed in 1966, the resulting enlarged company now being renamed as
British Motor Holdings British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and th ...
(BMH), which in 1968 merged with Leyland Motor Corporation and became British Leyland, itself to be
nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
in 1975. Jaguar was spun off from British Leyland and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984, becoming a constituent of the
FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...
until it was acquired by Ford in 1990. Jaguar has, in recent years, manufactured cars for the British Prime Minister, the most recent delivery being an XJ in May 2010. The company also holds royal warrants from Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
. Ford owned Jaguar Cars, also buying Land Rover in 2000, until 2008 when it sold both to Tata Motors. Tata created Jaguar Land Rover as a subsidiary holding company. At operating company level, in 2013 Jaguar Cars was merged with Land Rover to form Jaguar Land Rover Limited as the single design, manufacture, sales company and brand owner for both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. Since the Ford ownership era, Jaguar and Land Rover have used joint design facilities in engineering centres at Whitley in Coventry and Gaydon in Warwickshire and Jaguar cars have been assembled in plants at Castle Bromwich and Solihull. On 15 February 2021, Jaguar Land Rover announced that all cars made under the Jaguar brand will be fully electric by 2025.


History


Founding

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and
William Walmsley William Walmsley (1892–1961) was with William Lyons a co-founder of the Swallow Sidecar Company, which later became the Jaguar car company. Biography Walmsley was born in Stockport, England, the son of a coal merchant. He served in the Cheshi ...
. In 1934 Walmsley elected to sell-out and in order to buy the Swallow business (but not the company which was liquidated) Lyons formed S.S. Cars Limited, finding new capital by issuing shares to the public. Jaguar first appeared in September 1935 as a model name on an SS 2½-litre sports saloon. A matching open two seater sports model with a 3½-litre engine was named SS Jaguar 100. On 23 March 1945, the S. S. Cars shareholders in general meeting agreed to change the company's name to Jaguar Cars Limited. Said chairman William Lyons "Unlike S. S. the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name."S.S. Cars Limited. ''The Times'', Wednesday, 4 April 1945; pg. 10; Issue 50108 Though five years of pent-up demand ensured plenty of buyers production was hampered by shortage of materials, particularly steel, issued to manufacturers until the 1950s by a central planning authority under strict government control. Jaguar sold Motor Panels, a pressed steel body manufacturing company bought in the late 1930s, to steel and components manufacturer Rubery Owen, and Jaguar bought from John Black's Standard Motor Company the plant where Standard built Jaguar's six-cylinder engines. From this time Jaguar was entirely dependent for their bodies on external suppliers, in particular then independent Pressed Steel and in 1966 that carried them into BMC, BMH and British Leyland. Jaguar made its name by producing a series of successful eye-catching sports cars, the Jaguar XK120 (1948–54), Jaguar XK140 (1954–57), Jaguar XK150 (1957–61), and
Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...
(1961–75), all embodying Lyons' mantra of "value for money". The sports cars were successful in international motorsport, a path followed in the 1950s to prove the engineering integrity of the company's products. Jaguar's sales slogan for years was "Grace, Space, Pace","The classic has to be "Grace... Space... Pace," which was used throughout the 1950s and 1960s". a mantra epitomised by the record sales achieved by the MK VII, IX, Mks I and II saloons and later the XJ6. During the time this slogan was used, but the exact text varied. The core of Bill Lyons' success following WWII was the twin-cam straight six engine, conceived pre-war and realised while engineers at the Coventry plant were dividing their time between fire-watching and designing the new power plant. It had a hemispherical cross-flow cylinder head with valves inclined from the vertical; originally at 30 degrees (inlet) and 45 degrees (exhaust) and later standardised to 45 degrees for both inlet and exhaust. As fuel
octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...
ratings were relatively low from 1948 onwards, three piston configuration were offered: domed (high octane), flat (medium octane), and dished (low octane). The main designer, William "Bill" Heynes, assisted by Walter "Wally" Hassan, was determined to develop the Twin
OHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
unit. Bill Lyons agreed over misgivings from Hassan. It was risky to take what had previously been considered a racing or low-volume and cantankerous engine needing constant fettling and apply it to reasonable volume production saloon cars. The subsequent engine (in various versions) was the mainstay powerplant of Jaguar, used in the XK 120, Mk VII Saloon, Mk I and II Saloons and XK 140 and 150. It was also employed in the E Type, itself a development from the race winning and Le Mans conquering C and D Type Sports Racing cars refined as the short-lived XKSS, a road-legal D-Type. Few engine types have demonstrated such ubiquity and longevity: Jaguar used the Twin OHC ''XK Engine'', as it came to be known, in the Jaguar XJ6 saloon from 1969 through 1992, and employed in a J60 variant as the power plant in such diverse vehicles as the British Army's Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family of vehicles, as well as the Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle, the
Ferret Scout Car The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...
, and the Stonefield four-wheel-drive all-terrain lorry. Properly maintained, the standard production XK Engine would achieve 200,000 miles of useful life. Two of the proudest moments in Jaguar's long history in motor sport involved winning the Le Mans 24 hours race, firstly in 1951 and again in 1953. Victory at the 1955 Le Mans was overshadowed by it being the occasion of the worst motorsport accident in history. Later in the hands of the Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse two more wins were added in 1956 and 1957. In spite of such a performance orientation, it was always Lyons' intention to build the business by producing world-class sporting saloons in larger numbers than the sports car market could support. Jaguar secured financial stability and a reputation for excellence with a series of elegantly styled luxury saloons that included the 3-litre and 3½ litre cars, the Mark VII, VIII, and IX, the compact Mark I and 2, and the XJ6 and XJ12. All were deemed very good values, with comfortable rides, good handling, high performance, and great style. Combined with the trend-setting XK 120, XK 140, and XK 150 series of sports car, and nonpareil E-Type, Jaguar's elan as a prestige motorcar manufacturer had few rivals. The company's post-War achievements are remarkable, considering both the shortages that drove Britain (the
Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
still allocated raw materials) and the state of metallurgical development of the era.


Daimler

In 1950, Jaguar agreed to lease from the Ministry of Supply the Daimler Shadow 2 factory in
Browns Lane The Browns Lane plant in Coventry, England was built as a Second World War shadow factory run by Daimler Company, The Daimler Company Limited. In 1951 it was leased by Jaguar Cars and remained the company's home until 2005. It was the site o ...
, Allesley, Coventry, which at the time was being used by
The Daimler Company Limited The Daimler Company Limited ( ), prior to 1910 The Daimler Motor Company Limited, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by Harry John Lawson, H. J. Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Co ...
and moved to the new site from Foleshill over the next 12 months.'Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography', Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, page 120 onwards Jaguar purchased Daimler – not to be confused with Daimler-Benz or Daimler AG—in 1960 from BSA. From the late 1960s, Jaguar used the Daimler marque as a brand name for their most luxurious saloons.


Ownership


An end to independence

Pressed Steel Company Limited made all Jaguar's ( monocoque) bodies leaving provision and installation of the mechanicals to Jaguar. In mid-1965
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...
(BMC), the
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
- Morris combine, bought Pressed Steel. Lyons became concerned about the future of Jaguar, partly because of the threat to ongoing supplies of bodies, and partly because of his age and lack of an heir. He therefore accepted BMC's offer to merge with Jaguar to form British Motor (Holdings) Limited. At a press conference on 11 July 1965 at the Great Eastern Hotel in London, Lyons and BMC chairman George Harriman announced, "Jaguar Group of companies is to merge with The British Motor Corporation Ltd., as the first step towards the setting up of a joint holding company to be called British Motor (Holdings) Limited". In due course BMC changed its name to
British Motor Holdings British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and th ...
at the end of 1966. BMH was pushed by the Government to merge with Leyland Motor Corporation Limited, manufacturer of Leyland bus and truck, Standard- Triumph and, since 1967, Rover vehicles. The result was British Leyland Motor Corporation, a new holding company which appeared in 1968, but the combination was not a success. A combination of poor decision making by the board along with the financial difficulties of, especially, the Austin-Morris division (previously BMC) led to the Ryder Report and to effective nationalisation in 1975.


Temporary return to independence

Over the next few years it became clear that because of the low regard for many of the group's products insufficient capital could be provided to develop and begin manufacture of new models, including Jaguars, particularly if Jaguar were to remain a part of the group. In July 1984, Jaguar was floated off as a separate company on the stock market – one of the Thatcher government's many
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
s– to create its own track record. Installed as chairman in 1980, Sir John Egan is credited for Jaguar's unprecedented prosperity immediately after privatisation. In early 1986 Egan reported he had tackled the main problems that were holding Jaguar back from selling more cars: quality control, lagging delivery schedules, poor productivity. He laid off about one third of the company's roughly 10,000 employees to cut costs. Commentators later pointed out he exploited an elderly model range (on which all development costs had been written off) and raised prices. He also intensified the effort to improve Jaguar's quality. In the US the price increases were masked by a favourable exchange rate.


Ford Motor Company era

Ford made offers to Jaguar's US and UK shareholders to buy their shares in November 1989; Jaguar's listing on the London Stock Exchange was removed on 28 February 1990. In 1999 it became part of Ford's new Premier Automotive Group along with
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
, Volvo Cars and, from 2000, Land Rover. Under Ford's ownership, Jaguar never made a profit. Under Ford's ownership Jaguar expanded its range of products with the launch of the S-Type in 1999 and X-type in 2001. After PAG acquired Land Rover in May 2000 purchase by Ford, the brand became closely associated with Jaguar. In many countries they shared a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models shared components, although the only shared production facility was Halewood Body & Assembly – which manufactured the technically related X-Type and the Freelander 2. Operationally the two companies were effectively integrated under a common management structure within Ford's PAG. On 11 June 2007, Ford announced that it planned to sell Jaguar, along with Land Rover and retained the services of
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
, Morgan Stanley and
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
to advise it on the deal. The sale was initially expected to be announced by September 2007, but was delayed until March 2008. Private equity firms such as Alchemy Partners of the UK, TPG Capital,
Ripplewood Holdings Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments. Ripplewood was founded ...
(which hired former Ford Europe executive Sir Nick Scheele to head its bid), Cerberus Capital Management and
One Equity Partners One Equity Partners is a private equity firm with over $10 billion in assets under management which primarily deals with the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors in North America and Europe. One Equity Partners was the merchant banking a ...
(owned by JP Morgan Chase and managed by former Ford executive Jacques Nasser) of the US, Tata Motors of India and a consortium comprising Mahindra and Mahindra (an automobile manufacturer from India) and Apollo Management all initially expressed interest in purchasing the marques from the Ford Motor Company. Before the sale was announced, Anthony Bamford, chairman of British excavator manufacturer
JCB JCB may refer to: * JCB (company), a British manufacturer of heavy industrial and agricultural vehicles * JCB Co., Ltd., originally Japan Credit Bureau, a credit card company based in Tokyo, Japan * JCB Prize, a literary award sponsored by the c ...
had expressed interest in purchasing the company in August 2006, but backed out upon learning that the sale would also involve Land Rover, which he did not wish to buy. On Christmas Eve of 2007, Mahindra and Mahindra backed out of the race for both brands, citing complexities in the deal.


Tata Motors era

On 1 January 2008, Ford formally declared that Tata was the preferred bidder. Tata Motors also received endorsements from the Transport And General Worker's Union (TGWU)-
Amicus Amicus is Latin for 'friend' or 'comrade'. The word may refer to: Organizations * Amicus (trade union), the former British trade union, now merged with the TGWU to form Unite * Amicus Bank, a former bank based in Canada * Amicus Books, an inde ...
combine Combine may refer to: Machinery * Combine harvester, or combine, a machine to harvest grain crops * Combine seeder, or combine, a machine to plant seeds Company structure * Corporate group, an industrial business group in Western democracie ...
as well as from Ford. According to the rules of the auction process, this announcement would not automatically disqualify any other potential suitor. However, Ford (as well as representatives of Unite) would now be able to enter into detailed discussions with Tata concerning issues ranging from labour concerns (job security and pensions), technology (IT systems and engine production) and intellectual property, as well as the final sale price. Ford would also open its books for a more comprehensive
due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a l ...
by Tata. On 18 March 2008, Reuters reported that American bankers
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
and JP Morgan would finance the deal with a US$3 billion loan. On 26 March 2008, Ford announced that it had agreed to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors of India, and that they expected to complete the sale by the end of the second quarter of 2008. Included in the deal were the rights to three other British brands, Jaguar's own
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
, as well as two dormant brands Lanchester and Rover. On 2 June 2008, the sale to Tata was completed at a cost of £1.7 billion. On 18 January 2008, Tata Motors, a part of the Tata Group, established Jaguar Land Rover Limited as a British-registered and wholly owned subsidiary. The company was to be used as a holding company for the acquisition of the two businesses from Ford – Jaguar Cars Limited and Land Rover. That acquisition was completed on 2 June 2008. On 1 January 2013, the group, which had been operating as two separate companies (Jaguar Cars Limited and Land Rover), although on an integrated basis, underwent a fundamental restructuring. The parent company was renamed to Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC, Jaguar Cars Limited was renamed to Jaguar Land Rover Limited and the assets (excluding certain Chinese interests) of Land Rover were transferred to it. The consequence was that Jaguar Land Rover Limited became responsible in the UK for the design, manufacture and marketing of both Jaguar and Land Rover products.


Plants

From 1922 the Swallow Sidecar company (SSC) was located in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
. The company moved to Holbrook Lane, Coventry in 1928 when demand for the Austin Swallow became too great for the factory's capacity. The company started using the ''Jaguar'' name whilst based in Holbrooks Lane. In 1951, having outgrown the original Coventry site they moved to Browns Lane, which had been a wartime "shadow factory" run by The Daimler Company. The Browns Lane plant ceased trim and final operations in 2005, the X350 XJ having already moved to Castle Bromwich two years prior, with the XK and S-Type following. The Browns Lane plant, which continued producing veneer trim for a while and housed the Jaguar Daimler Heritage centre until it moved to the British Motor Museum site, has now been demolished and is being redeveloped. Jaguar acquired the Whitley engineering centre from Peugeot in 1986; which had originally been part of Chrysler Europe which the French firm had owned since the late 1970s. The decision to offload the site to Jaguar came as Peugeot discontinued the Talbot brand for passenger cars. In 2016, Jaguar also moved into part of the old Peugeot/Chrysler/Rootes site in Ryton-on-Dunsmore which closed a decade earlier – this now is the home of Jaguar Land Rover's classic restoration operation. Jaguar's Radford plant, originally a Daimler bus plant but later a Jaguar engine and axle plant, was closed by Ford in 1997 when it moved all Jaguar engine production to its Bridgend facility. In 2000, Ford turned its Halewood plant over to Jaguar following the discontinuation of its long running Escort that year for Jaguar's new X-Type model. It was later joined by the second-generation Land Rover Freelander 2, from 2007. Jaguars ceased being produced at Halewood in 2009 following the discontinuation of the X-Type; Halewood now becoming a Land Rover-only plant. Since Jaguar Land Rover was formed following the merger of Jaguar Cars with Land Rover, facilities have been shared across several JLR sites, most of which are used for work on both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.


Current cars


E-Pace

The Jaguar E-Pace is a compact SUV, officially revealed on 13 July 2017.


F-Pace

The F-Pace is a compact luxury crossover SUV – the first SUV from Jaguar. It was unveiled at the International Motor Show Germany in Frankfurt in September 2015.


F-Type

The F-Type convertible was launched at the
2012 Paris Motor Show The Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2012, known in English as the 2012 Paris Motor Show, took place from 29 September to 14 October 2012 at Paris Expo. Introductions Production cars * Audi A3 Sportback * Audi RS5 Cabriolet * BMW 1 Series 3DR ...
, following its display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June 2012, and is billed as a successor to the legendary E-Type. In fact, the Series III E-Type already had a successor, in the form of the XJS, which was in turn replaced by the XK8 and XKR. The F-Type nevertheless returns to the 2-seat plan that was lost with the introduction of the Series III E-Type, which was available only in a 2+2-seat configuration. It was developed following the positive reaction to Jaguar's C-X16 concept car at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Sales will begin in 2013 with three engine choices; two variants of the AJ126 V6 petrol engine and the AJ133 V8 petrol engine.


I-Pace

The Jaguar I-Pace is an electric SUV, officially revealed on 1 March 2018. It is Jaguar's first electric car.


XE

The XE is the first compact executive Jaguar since the 2009 model year X-Type and is the first of several Jaguar models to be built using Jaguar's new modular aluminium architecture, moving the company away from the Ford derived platforms that were used in the past for the X-Type and XF. The use of Jaguar's own platform allows the XE to feature either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configurations, and it is the first car in its segment with an aluminium monocoque structure. Originally announced at the 2014
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
with sales scheduled for 2015.


XF

The Jaguar XF is a mid-size executive car introduced in 2008 to replace the S-Type. In January 2008, the XF was awarded the '' What Car?'' 'Car of the Year' and 'Executive Car of the Year' awards. The XF was also awarded Car of the Year 2008 from ''What Diesel?'' magazine. Engines available in the XF are 2.2-litre I4 and 3.0-litre V6 diesel engines, or 3.0 litre V6 and 5.0-litre V8 petrol engines. The 5.0 Litre engine is available in supercharged form in the XFR. From 2011, the 2.2-litre diesel engine from the Land Rover Freelander was added to the range as part of a facelift.


R models

Jaguar began producing R models in 1995 with the introduction of the first XJR, and the first XKR was introduced in 1997. Jaguar R, R-S and SVR models are designated to compete with the likes of Mercedes-AMG, BMW M and Audi S and RS.


Historic car models

The renamed Jaguar company started production with the pre-war 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5-litre models, which used engines designed by the Standard Motor Company. The 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine was still supplied by Standard but the two larger six-cylinder ones were made in house. These cars have become known unofficially as Mark IVs. The first post-war model was the September 1948 Mark V available with either 2.5 or 3.5-litre engines. It had a slightly more streamlined appearance than pre-war models, but more important was the change to torsion bar independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes. In the spring of 1948 Lyons had returned from USA reporting Jaguar's individuality and perceived quality attracted the admiration of American buyers accustomed to the virtual uniformity of their home-grown vehicles. The first big breakthrough was the launch in October 1948 of their new record-breaking engine design in their XK120 sportscar to replace the prewar SS Jaguar 100. It was powered by a new twin overhead camshaft (DOHC) 3.5-litre hemi-head six-cylinder engine designed by
William Heynes William Munger Heynes CBE (31 December 1903-July 1989), born in Leamington Spa, was an English people, English automotive engineer. Heynes was educated at Warwick School from 1914 to 1921 before joining the Humber Limited, Humber Car Company in ...
,
Walter Hassan Walter Thomas Frederick Hassan OBE, C.Eng., M.I. Mech.E. (25 April 1905 – 12 July 1996) was a distinguished UK automotive engineer who took part in the design and development of three very successful engines: Jaguar XK, Coventry Climax and Jag ...
and Claude Baily. The XK100 4-cylinder 2-Litre version had broken records in Belgium travelling at 177 mph. This XK engine had been designed at night during the war when they would be on fire watch in the factory. After several attempts a final design was achieved. That is until owner William Lyons said "make it quieter". The sportscar bearing its prefix X had originally been intended as a short production model of about 200 vehicles. A test bed for the new engine until its intended home, the new Mark VII saloon, was ready. The second big breakthrough was the large Mark VII saloon in 1950, a car especially conceived for the American market, Jaguar was overwhelmed with orders. The Mark VII and its successors gathered rave reviews from magazines such as ''
Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published 6 times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York, New York. History ''Road & Track'' (often ab ...
'' and '' The Motor''. In 1956 a Mark VII won the prestigious
Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
. The XK120's exceptional reception was followed in 1954 by an improved XK140 then in May 1957 a fully revised XK150. In 1955, the ''Two-point-four'' or 2.4-litre saloon (named by enthusiasts 2.4 Mark 1) was the first monocoque (unitary) car from Jaguar. Its 2.4-litre short-stroke version of the XK engine provided performance. In 1957, the 3.4-litre version with disk brakes, wire wheels and other options was introduced, with a top speed of . In October 1959, an extensively revised version of the car with wider windows and 2.4, 3.4, and 3.8-litre engine options became the Mark 2. The 3.8 Mark 2 was popular with British police forces for its small size and performance. The Mark VIII of 1956 and Mark IX of 1958 were essentially updates of the Mark VII, but the oversize
Mark X Mark X or mark 10 often refers to the tenth version of a product, frequently military hardware. "Mark", meaning "model" or "variant", can be abbreviated "Mk." Mark X or mark 10 can specifically refer to: In technology In military and weapon ...
of 1961 was a completely new design of large saloon with all round independent suspension and unitary construction. Jaguar launched the E-Type in 1961. The independent rear suspension from the Mark X was incorporated in the 1963 S-Type, a Mark 2 lengthened to contain the complex rear suspension, and in 1967 the Mark 2 name was dropped when the small saloons became the 240/340 range. The
420 420 may refer to: * 420 (number) * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20 **California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act *AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar * ...
of 1966, also sold as the
Daimler Sovereign Daimler Sovereign was a name applied by British manufacturer Jaguar Cars to a sequence of luxury automobiles built by it but carrying the Daimler badge between 1966 and 1983. The Daimler Sovereigns were based on contemporary Jaguar bodyshells, c ...
, put a new front onto the S-type, although both cars continued in parallel until the S-Type was dropped in 1968. The slow-selling Mark X became the 420G in 1966 and was dropped at the end of the decade. Jaguar was saved by its new equally capacious but very much trimmer new XJ6. Of the more recent saloons, the most significant is the XJ (1968–1992). From 1968 on, the Series I XJ saw minor changes, first in 1973 (to Series II), 1979 (Series III), a complete redesign for 1986/1987 in XJ40, further modifications in 1995 (X300), in 1997 with V8-power (X308), and a major advance in 2003 with an industry-first aluminium monocoque-chassis (X350). The most luxurious XJ models carried either the Vanden Plas (US) or
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
(rest of world) nameplates. In 1972, the 12-cylinder engine was introduced in the XJ, while simultaneously being offered in the E Type. 1992 saw the introduction of the mid-engined, twin-turbo XJ220, powered by a V6 engine. The XJ220 was confirmed the fastest production car in the world at the time after Martin Brundle recorded a speed of on the Nardo track in Italy. Over the years many Jaguar models have sported the famous chrome plated Leaping Jaguar, traditionally forming part of the radiator cap. Known as "The Leaper", this iconic mascot has been the subject of controversy in recent times when banned for safety reasons from cars supplied to Europe whilst it continued to be fitted on cars destined for the United States, Middle East and Far East. It has now been dropped from all the latest Jaguar models, although some customers add it to their car as a customization. The Jaguar S-Type, first appeared in 1999 and stopped production in 2008. It has now been replaced by the Jaguar XF. Early S-Types suffered from reliability problems but those were mostly resolved by the 2004 model year. The Jaguar X-Type was a compact executive car launched in 2001, while the company was under Ford ownership, sharing its platform with the Ford Mondeo. X-Type production ended in 2009. The Jaguar XK was a luxury grand tourer introduced in 2006, where it replaced the XK8. The XK introduced an aluminium monocoque bodyshell, and was available both as a two-door coupé and two-door cabriolet/ convertible. Production ceased in 2014. The Jaguar XJ was a full-size luxury saloon. The model was in production since 1968, with production ceasing in 2019, with the first generation being the last Jaguar car to have creative input by the company's founder,
Sir William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...
, although this is disputed as some Jaguar historians claim that the second generation XJ – the XJ40 series – was the last car which Lyons had influenced. The XJ40 originally launched in 1986 and went through two major revamps in 1994 ( X300) and 1997 ( X308) for a total production run of 17 years. In early 2003, the third generation XJ – the
X350 The Lockheed Martin X-35 is a concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) developed by Lockheed Martin for the Joint Strike Fighter program. The X-35 was declared the winner over the competing Boeing X-32 and a developed, armed version went on to ente ...
– arrived in showrooms and while the car's exterior and interior styling were traditional in appearance, the car was completely re-engineered. Its styling attracted much criticism from many motoring journalists who claimed that the car looked old-fashioned and barely more modern than its predecessor, many even citing that the 'Lyons line' had been lost in the translation from XJ40 into X350 XJ, even though beneath the shell lay a highly advanced aluminium construction that put the XJ very near the top of its class. Jaguar responded to the criticism with the introduction of the fourth generation XJ, launched in 2009. Its exterior styling is a departure from previous XJs, with a more youthful, contemporary stance, following the design shift that came into effect previously with the company's XF and XK models. The 5-litre V8 engine in the XJ Supersport can accelerate the car from in 4.7 seconds, and has a UK emission rating of 289 g/km. To cater to the limousine market, all XJ models are offered with a longer wheelbase (LWB) as an option, which increases the rear legroom.


List


Large executive

* 1935–1955 litre saloon * 1937–1948 Litre saloon * 1948–1951 Mark V * 1951–1957 Mark VII (& VIIM) * 1957–1959 Mark VIII * 1959–1961 Mark IX * 1961–1966
Mark X Mark X or mark 10 often refers to the tenth version of a product, frequently military hardware. "Mark", meaning "model" or "variant", can be abbreviated "Mk." Mark X or mark 10 can specifically refer to: In technology In military and weapon ...
* 1966–1970 420G * 1968–1987 XJ6 Series 1, 2 & 3 * 1972–1992 XJ12 * 1986–1994 XJ6 (XJ40) * 1993–1994 XJ12 (XJ81) * 1995–1997 XJ6 & XJ12 (X300 & X301) * 1998–2003 XJ8 (X308) * 2004–2007 XJ (X350) * 2008–2009 XJ (X358)


Compact executive

* 1935–1949 Litre saloon * 1955–1959 Mark 1 * 1959–1967 Mark 2 * 1963–1968 S-type * 1966–1968
420 420 may refer to: * 420 (number) * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20 **California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act *AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar * ...
* 1966–1968 240 & 340 * 1999–2008 S-type * 2001–2009 X-type * 2007–2015 XF (X250)


Sports

* 1948–1954 XK120 * 1954–1957 XK140 * 1957–1961 XK150 * 1961–1974 E-Type * 1975–1996 XJ-S * 1992–1994 XJ220 * 1997–2006 XK8/XKR (X100) * 2006–2014 XK (X150)


Racing and competition

* 1950s C-Type * 1950s D-Type * 1960s E-Type Lightweight * 1985–1992 XJR-5 through XJR-17 * 2009 XFR Bonneville Salt Flats speed record * 2010 Jaguar RSR XKR GT2


Concept cars

* E1A – The 1950s E-Type concept vehicle * E2 A – The second E-Type concept vehicle, which raced at LeMans and in the USA * XJ13 (1966) – Built to race at LeMans, never run * Pirana (1967) – Designed by Bertone * Ascot (1977) * XJ41/XJ42 (1982-1990) – the first F-Type; cancelled due to the Ford's takeover of Jaguar * XJ90 (1988-1991) – planned XJ40 replacement; cancelled due to Ford's takeover of Jaguar * Kensington (1990) * XK 180 (1998) – Roadster concept based on the XK8 * F-Type (2000) – Roadster, similar to the XK8 but smaller * R-Coupé (2001) – Large four-seater coupé * Fuore XF 10 (2003) * R-D6 (2003) – Compact four-seat coupé * XK-RR – A high-performance version of last generation XK coupé * XK-RS – Another performance-spec version of last generation XK convertible * Concept Eight (2004) – Super-luxury version of the long-wheelbase model of the XJ * C-XF (2007) – Precursor to the production model XF saloon * C-X75 (2010) – Hybrid-electric sports car, originally intended for production but cancelled in 2012 * B99 (2011) * C-X16 (2011) – Precursor to the production model F-Type * C-X17 (2013) – First ever Jaguar SUV concept * Project 7 – a 542 bhp V8-powered speedster based on the F-Type and inspired by the D-Type (2013) * Future-Type (2017)


Engines

Jaguar has designed in-house six generations of engines: * Historic: ** XK6Inline-6 ** V12 – 60° V12 ** AJ6/AJ16 – 22° Inline-6 ** AJ-V6 – 60° V6 (Ford designed, Jaguar modified) * Current: ** AJ-V8 – 90° V8 ** AJ126 – 90° V6 ** AJD-V6 – 60° V6 (Ford designed) ** IngeniumInline-4


Motorsport

Jaguar has had major success in sports car racing, particularly in the
Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...
. Victories came in and with the C-Type, then in , and with the D-Type. The manager of the racing team during this period, Lofty England, later became CEO of Jaguar in the early 1970s. Although the prototype XJ13 was built in the mid-1960s it was never raced, and the famous race was then left for many years. In 1982, a successful relationship with Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team commenced with the XJ-S competing in the European Touring Car Championship, which it won in 1984. In 1985, the TWR XJ-S won the Bathurst 1000 race. In the mid-1980s TWR started designing and preparing Jaguar V12-engined Group C cars for World Sports Prototype Championship races. The team started winning regularly from 1987, and won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990 with the XJR series sports cars. The Jaguar XJR-14 was the last of the XJRs to win, taking the 1991 World Sportscar Championship. In 1999, Ford decided that Jaguar would be the corporation's Formula One entry. Ford bought out the
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
-based
Stewart Grand Prix Stewart Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor and racing team founded by triple Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford works-supported team, for only three seasons, from 199 ...
team and rebranded it as
Jaguar Racing Jaguar Racing is the name given to Jaguar Land Rover's racing interests. It currently competes in Formula E under the name Jaguar TCS Racing as a result of the partnership with Tata Consultancy Services. It was previously a Formula One construc ...
for the 2000 season. The Jaguar F1 program was not a success however, achieving only two podium finishes in five seasons of competition between and . At the end of 2004, with costs mounting and Ford's profits dwindling, the F1 team was seen as an unneeded expense and was sold to
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
energy drinks owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and it became Red Bull Racing. On 15 December 2015, it was announced that Jaguar would return to motorsport for the third season of
Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...
. On 15 June 2018, Jaguar Vector Racing broke the world speed record for an electric battery powered boat. The Jaguar Vector V20E recorded an average speed of 88.61 mph across the two legs of the 1 km course on Coniston Water, England. Notable sports racers: *
Jaguar C-Type The Jaguar C-Type (officially called the Jaguar XK120-C) is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" stands for "competition". The car combined the running gear of the contemporary, road-proven XK120, with a li ...
(1951–1953) *
Jaguar D-Type The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car that was produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Designed specifically to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, it shared the straight-6 XK engine and many mechanical components with its C-Type ...
(1954–1957) * Jaguar Lightweight E-Type *
Jaguar XJ13 The Jaguar XJ13 was a prototype racing car developed by Jaguar Engineering Director William Heynes to compete at Le Mans in the mid 1960s. It never raced, and only one was produced. The car has not been officially valued, but a £7 million bid ...
* Jaguar XJR Sportscars * Jaguar XJR-9 (1988) * XJ220 (1988) * XJR-15 (1990)


Jaguar and the arts

For some time now, Jaguar has been active in the international arts scene. In particular, the company has collaborated with the artist
Stefan Szczesny Stefan Szczesny (born 9 April 1951) is a German painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. He is best known for co-founding the Neue Wilde movement in the early 1980s. Biography 1951–1994 Stefan Szczesny was born in Munich as the son of the ph ...
, implementing major art projects. In 2011, Jaguar presented the exhibition series "Shadows", which involved the installation of Szczesny's shadow sculptures in Sankt-Moritz, on Sylt and in Saint-Tropez. In 2012, a large number of sculptures, ceramics and paintings were shown in Frankfurt (and mainly in Frankfurt's Palmengarten). As part of the collaboration with Szczesny, Jaguar has released the "Jaguar Art Collection".


See also

*
List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom :''This list is incomplete. You can help by adding correctly sourced information about other manufacturers.'' As of 2018 there are approximately 35 active British car manufacturers and over 500 defunct British car manufacturers. This page lists ...


References


External links

*
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust website
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