Historiography: The Rise, The Fall, And The Reboot of A Cat

At the end of World War II, American troops coming from Europe were bringing home some of the spoils of victory. They brought back automobiles that looked, felt, and drove nothing like the ones back on the home front. 

In Europe, these homebound troops discovered the roadster. They also discovered some that were more precious than others. Years later, these cars from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and (West) Germany found new sales channels for other American consumers to discover themselves. The spoils of war can now be enjoyed by those who are reaping the benefits of victory. 

One brand emerged from war-torn Britain that would be the talk of the new upper-middle class. Rather, those who define the new wealth of the postwar years. A lineup of automobiles so beautiful that were coveted by the well-to-do from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Beverly Hills. 

Jaguar was the brand of cars that emerged from the mind of Sir William Lyons. From a sidecar company, Lyons turned to making four-wheel machines that were finely engineered and designed for those looking for a mix of sport and luxury. The pre-World War II SS models were coveted for their performance and road manners. 

Before World War II, Lyons applied the Jaguar name to his three-and-a-half-liter sports car. The name stuck after World War II, as it became the corporate name going onward. Yet, it struggled to get things going due to material shortages that were challenging the British automotive industry in the late 1940s. 

Meanwhile, Lyons and Jaguar were developing a series of successors to the SS 100 cars for a postwar audience. By 1948, the XK120 provided the direction for the company into the 1950s.

At its core is the in-line six-cylinder engine. This was the heart of practically every Jaguar well into the 1980s. The XK engine was a well-engineered motor that punched above its weight. It was proven on the racetrack as well as on narrow country lanes. The original 3.4-liter engine was benchmarked for top speed and endurance, as it went racing at Le Mans and other circuits around the world. 

At the same time, the XK 120 would set design trends for sports cars to come. “Sleek” would be the code word for anything Jaguar would produce from the end of World War II into its finest decade. It is worth noting that the XK engine ran as fast as advertised – 120 MPH. That from a 160-horsepower XK engine. 

The XK engine and the glorious coupes and roadsters sporting those two letters were the talk of the new postwar decade. These cars were among the most beautiful and desirable automobiles of the 1950s. 

The same platform also produced the most fantastic sedans, designed with the familiar face shared with the coupes – the tall grille with vertical bars crowned with the face of the cat whose name is born on each automobile. The 1950 Mark VII was originally conceived for the American market. It would be a prestige automobile that was priced between a Cadillac and a Rolls-Royce. 

By 1955, the big sedan would be joined by a more sporting and smaller one – the Mark I. It combined the sporting feel of the XK roadsters and coupes with a more concentrated sedan. It became the Jaguar to have, if you wanted another set of doors. It’s successor, the Mark 2, took the world by storm. 

In all, these Jaguars were the epitome of the company’s slogan: “Grace…Space…Pace.”

The 1960s provided a fresh look for Jaguar. A new coupe – the E-Type – would set a design benchmark for all luxury sports coupes to follow. It would be joined by a new sedan – the Mark X. It would be renamed the 420G in the intervening years of the decade. However, the Mark 2 sedans – eventually to be called the 3.8 in the USA – would augment the E-Type to lure luxury car customers to its clutches. 

Jaguar was steeped in tradition when it came to its approach to giving its customers everything you wanted. They demanded workmanship and performance. They wanted Connolly leather on their seats, Wilton carpets on the floor, and the roar of an XK engine underneath the hood. 

However, that tradition would be challenged when they were purchased by British Motor Holdings in 1966. It would be one of many owners of Sir William Lyon’s glorious automotive concern. Yet, it would also be a sign of a possible decline for a brand that still attracted the world’s well-heeled clients. 

British Motor Holdings merged with Leyland in 1968 to become British Leyland. If anything, this merger would turn Jaguar from a respected and beloved brand to something short of a joke. That, despite the introduction of the new XJ sedan and the introduction of a V12 engine before the dawn of the 1970s. 

As a child in the 1970s, I learned of Jaguar’s past. The cars of that decade and years before were sights to be seen. They embodied the tenets of the brand – performance, workmanship, and luxury. 

However, the decade exposed some of BL’s meddling of their luxury performance brand. One such evidence of this would be in the advertisements in Road & Track offering engine swap kits for XJ sedans. Those ads touted the idea that you could get rid of your unreliable engine for a Chevrolet Small Block V8. To say that a Chevrolet engine was more reliable than a well-engineered and antiquated engine design should tell you that what would happen to Jaguar might not end well. 

Back in Britain, the government kept BL from collapsing – along with the British automotive industry. If Jaguar was to survive, they had to create a new line of automobiles and would be under a new management team that cared about keeping the heritage alive. 

Eventually, that would happen under an independent Jaguar plc in 1984. With the aging XK-S and a relatively new XJ sedan, you witnessed a company steep in transition. The gamble spurned on by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s privatization program eventually paid off with Sir John Egan as its chairman directing a new wave of vehicle development and eventual prosperity. Part of which involved efficiencies that would concentrate on vehicle quality to meet the standards of its customers. 

That new vehicle development needed a team that would be better manage it – and, of course, money to execute it. By 1989, Ford arrived to take Jaguar and Land Rover under its wing. The minders from Dearborn understood that for Jaguar to regain relevance and continue its drive towards fulfilling its obligations to luxury car consumers, it had to continue to build vehicles by returning to the levels of workmanship expected from classic Jaguars. 

What Ford added was to create modern interpretations of the brand’s classic design. The XJ returned to the days of its first three series. They added the S-Type as a mid-sized sedan shaped in the classic Mark 2 and the compact X-Type on the Mondeo platform as a smaller scale XJ. 

They also brought back the XK as a true grand tourer. A classic long hood took a modern twist, even though the underpinnings were completely different than from the original formula. 

After giving Jaguar new legs to stand on, Ford decided it was time to let them go. Not because of an impending financial crisis, but rather for Dearborn to focus on its core businesses. Eventually, Tata Motors would become Jaguar’s newest steward in 2008. They continue to own Jaguar Land Rover – er, JLR – today.

In the meantime, the Indian conglomerate inherited a new generation of Jaguar models that would be more competitive in a modern luxury car market. The new XJ, XF, F-Type, and XE appeared to create a new design and engineering package for the leaping cat. They signify a continuation of the brand’s automotive trajectory by sticking to sedans and grand tourers. 

Just when you think that there was a sustainable future under Tata’s stewardship, the automotive marketplace threw a wrench into the plot. Customers favored the SUV above anything else. Using Land Rover and Range Rover platforms, Jaguar responded by introducing two new models onto their showrooms – the E-Pace and the F-Pace. They also added a battery-electric crossover called the I-Pace. 

One wondered whether the leaping cat has lost its mojo. Whether the market would accept these softroaders that wore the badge of the famous cat was called into question. They still had a lineup of cars – the F-Type, XE, XF, and XJ. Yet, neither of them would capture the allure of past Jaguars. 

The main problem was not just the proliferation of the SUV. Jaguar shared retail space with Land Rover and Range Rover. It became quite clear that customers were attracted to Defenders and Range Rover Sports than F-Paces and XFs. Sales felt lopsided towards one brand over the other – SUVs over cars. 

A recent announcement made by JLR of their ending sales of Jaguar in their home market of the UK was beyond shocking. However, that end appeared to be just a reset…

A fashion-driven reboot was teased. Talk of an all-electric future had been given some attention through the automotive media. Word has it that we will see three new models on a battery-electric platform with higher aspirations into the ultra-luxury market. We will be seeing at least one such concept this week.

To write about Jaguar is to honor it legacy. To look back at how it took the luxury car and made it their own. To prove their worth on the greatest racing venues on Earth. Then, to become a aspirational brand for upwardly mobile and astute consumers. 

Now, we have a new chapter to write. 

All photos by Randy Stern