Jaguar began as the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded in 1922 in Blackpool, England, by William Lyons and William Walmsley to make motorcycle sidecars. It moved on to stylish car bodies and then its own cars, adopting the name Jaguar after the Second World War. Under Lyons, Jaguar produced legends such as the XK120, the Le Mans-winning C-Type and D-Type, the E-Type and the XJ sedan. After ownership by British Leyland, Ford and now Tata Motors, Jaguar is reinventing itself as an all-electric luxury brand.

Timeline

Year Event
1922 Swallow Sidecar Company founded
1935 SS Jaguar name first used
1945 Company renamed Jaguar Cars
1948 XK120
1951–1957 Five Le Mans wins
1961 E-Type
1968 XJ6
1990 Bought by Ford
2008 Bought by Tata Motors

From sidecars to SS

Lyons had a talent for design. The company built attractive bodies on Austin chassis, then its own SS cars in the 1930s. The SS Jaguar of 1935 introduced the Jaguar name. After the war, the SS initials had unwelcome associations, and the company became Jaguar Cars.

Le Mans and the XK

The XK120 of 1948, with its twin-cam XK engine, was one of the fastest production cars of its time. Jaguar won Le Mans in 1951 and 1953 with the C-Type and three times in a row from 1955 to 1957 with the D-Type.

Grace, space and pace

Jaguar’s slogan summed up its sedans — elegant, roomy and fast. The E-Type and XJ became icons. Read the Jaguar E-Type and the Jaguar XJ history.

Troubled times

In 1968 Jaguar became part of British Leyland, where it suffered from underinvestment and quality problems. Privatized in 1984, it was bought by Ford in 1990, which invested heavily. In 2008 Tata Motors bought Jaguar and Land Rover, forming Jaguar Land Rover.

The electric future

Jaguar has announced a complete reinvention as an all-electric, higher-priced luxury brand, previewed by a radical 2024 concept. Read the Land Rover history.