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A Brief History Coventry based Jaguar was born in 1922 out of Sir William Lyons' Swallow Sidecar Company (later known as SS cars), wisely adopting the Jaguar marque after the end of the second world war in 1945. Luxury saloons such as the everlasting XJ have always been the mainstay of Jaguar production, but it is for some of their remarkable open top sports cars that they are best known. The XK120 signaled their first true entry into the sportscar market but it is the legendary E-Type that astonished the world back in 1961, and stands the test of time as one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Jaguar has always been synonymous with racing thanks to C and D Type victories at Le Mans in the 50's, but the leaping cat would have to wait another 30 years before a winning return with the XJR-9 in 1989. Jaguar lost it's independence in 1966, becoming part of the BMC, later to become the infamous British Leyland. John Egan fronted a brief return to the private sector in 1984, until the company was consumed by Ford in 1989. This saw a marked improvement in the previously poor build quality that blighted Jags of the 70's and 80's. The supercar boom of the late 1980's saw the production of the glorious XJ220, the fastest car in the world prior to McLaren's F1. However, the car was blighted by the farce that followed the stock market crash (and change in the car's specification) that led to many deposit holders being sued by the company. Jaguars poor image has turned around over the last decade with a succession of quality, class leading cars in the form of the XF, XK and desirable new F-Type. Gallery Selection
Timeline*
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