Jaguar Cars

Jaguar Cars were formed in 1945 when S.S. Cars were renamed Jaguar Cars Limited. The S.S. was derived from the Swallow Sidecar Company that started out life in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley. The remnants of that company were re-born by Lyons as S.S. Cars in 1935.

The name Jaguar came into being with the first car being called the SS Jaguar 100. Following the Second World War the SS was dropped for obvious reasons.

The categories of cars that have been the hallmark of the company since 1935 are, Sports, Executive, Large Executive and Racing.

Jaguar became renowned for making some beautiful sports cars ever made. From 1948, the XK120, XK140, XK150 and the Jaguar E-Type are instantly recognisable and unforgettable. The XJ-S, a grand tourer, made between 1975 and 1996 came with fixed head, cabriolet and the targa style SC models. 

Before World War II, S.S.Cars made coachbuilt executive saloons, the 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 litre models. These beautiful cars, built between 1935 and 1940 had been titled the S.S. Jaguar 1.5 litre, 2.5 litre and 3.5 litre. During this period they also developed a small two-seater, the SS Jaguar 100 sports car. Following the end of war, Jaguar Cars Ltd returned to producing these executive cars, dropping the S.S. They later became know as Jaguar Mark IV class. These cars stayed in production, minus the sports model, until the end of the 1940s.

The executive models evolved through several iteration of marks starting in 1948 with the Mk V (no Mk VI, Bentley already had one) through to the Mk X (420G), ending in 1970. These helped Jaguar expand into the important US market and grow production facilities.

Those large executive models sold well and brought stability to the company that could now expand into other areas. In 1955 came the compact Mark 1 2.4 saloon, and in 1959 the Mark 2 replacement being one of the most recognisable models and associated with the TV Detective Chief Inspector Morse. The prequel, Endeavour, did use the Mark 1. Production continued up to 1970 with some 128,000 built in total.

A return to the two-seater sports car came in 1948 with the XK120 that was available as either fixed head or drophead coupé. The XK140 followed in 1954 and the XK150 in 1957. In 1961 that XK series was replaced by the E-Type or XK-E (US) that had 3 series up to 1974.

Many more models would follow.