Jaguar

Jaguar Cars Limited is a British luxury car manufacturer, founded in its original incarnation in 1922 by motorcycle enthusiasts Sir William Lyons and William Walmsley. The first vehicle to carry the Jaguar name was the 1935 SS Jaguar 2.5 litre sedan, later released in the SS 90 and SS 100 sports models. The 3.5 litre SS 100 became one of Jaguar’s most celebrated cars due to its successes in motor racing. The general financial uncertainty of postwar years necessitated the sale of some of Jaguar’s assets, but in spite of this, the company continued to enjoy relative success throughout the 1950s, producing the Mark V, VII, VIII and IX. In 1956 and 1957, Jaguar’s racing team managed legendary victories in the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. In 1961, the Jaguar E-Type was unveiled, and soon became a famous symbol of the Jaguar brand, often used in the company’s marketing. The E-Type ranked first in the Daily Telegraph’s list of the “100 Most Beautiful Cars” of all time. The retirement of founder William Lyons in 1972 left the company in confusion and, over the next decade, Jaguar began to fall apart under weak management. It wasn’t until the appointment of new chairman John Egan in 1980 that Jaguar began to resurface; by 1985, the company had found its feet again. Today, Jaguar is owned by Tata Motors of India. Recent models include the latest version of the iconic Jaguar XJ, the high-performance Jaguar XK, the Jaguar XF sports car and the luxury X-Type sedan.