Few marques on the road today have a heritage as rich and distinguished as Jaguar.
That is, when you consider that it was conceived in 1922 by William Lyons, a man whose original vision was to design motorcycle sidecars with his Swallow Sidecar Company.
By 1927, he'd progressed to building special bodied cars, which in 1931 resulted in the launch of the legendary SS1 – a car which set the stage for the first true Jaguar. As the range improved and expanded, it needed a name to reflect its speed, power and sleekness and in 1935 the Jaguar name was born.
During World War II, whilst concentrating primarily on the manufacture of sidecars for military use, the company also learnt aircraft design and production techniques. When Jaguar subsequently introduced its new XK120 at the 1948 Motor Show – with an engine output of an unprecedented 160 BHP – it was destined to become one of the greatest sports cars of all time
