The jaguar name does not represent any one car. It is the name of an English company that has built classy and beautiful cars since the early 1900's. The English man who made Jaguar famous was Sir William Loyons. His genius as a body stylist made people notice Jaguars where ever they went. Jaguars are known for their powerful engines and wonderful handling. Jaguar racing cars have won races around the world. Through the part of the Jaguar name has appeared on everything from sharp-looking sports cars to fancy luxury Sedans. The common feature that unites all Jaguar cars is their flair.
Willam Lyons was a motorcycle buff. In 120, Lyons and a partner, Willam Walmley, began building motorcycle side cars. Lyons and Walmsley, named their new business the shallow sidecar company. By 1926, Lyons and his partner began applying their talents to custom building automobile bodies. The frame and engines for their came from other builders. Lyones and his partner soon became frustrated fitting the car bodies on other designers frames. They settled on a frame design they liked. They the Standard Motor Company to build it. The motor company built it and provided the engines.

The First Jaguar

Lyons' first cars were the S.S1 and S.S2. The S.S.s were shown to the public in 1931 at the London Motor Show. The S.S2 was a smaller version of the S.S1. Both cars caused a sensation. Their bodies were low to the ground and the hoods were very long. The long, low, sporty car was popular with the car-buying public. In 1993 Lyons introduced the S.S1 Tourer. It had an open top. The regular S.S1 and S.S2 were enclosed tops. The Tourer was entered into a car race and won.

Postwar Jaguars

With their postwar vehicles, Jaguars dropped the S.S1 label. Most of the Company's cars were given the initials XK  and the model number. The XK was the name of the engine that powered the car. X meant external. K meant was the alphabetical character of the final engine model selected for production. This basic engine was so successful that versions of it remained in Jaguars until The mid-1980's.

Jaguar Racing Cars

In 1954, Jaguar came out with a new racing car. It was designed to compete at Le Mans. It known as the D-type. It was very different from the C-type. Instead, the D-type depended on the strength of its body panels to hold it together. The front end was bolted to the center section. The rear section was also bolted into the center section.

Jaguar Sedans

Jaguar builds more than just sports cars. Jaguar has long history of building fast and beautiful Sedans. The medium-sized Jaguar Sedans have always sold well.  Between 1955 and 1967, Jaguar sold about 121,000 medium-sized sedans.  In 1967, the Jaguar Mark 2 medium-sized sedan was offered in two economical versions.  The 240 or 340 sedan.  The 340 had a bigger engine than the 240.  The 240 and 340 sedans were affordable cars.  They were made for people who could not afford top of the line Jaguar models.  

XJ6

Since its introduction in the early 1970's, more than 100, 000 Jaguar XJS coupes and convertibles have been built.  Production of the XJS series ended in 1996.  The car is already considered a classic by many collectors.  When XJS appeared in car dealers showrooms they are snapped up by buyers.  The last XJS convertible had an aluminum AJ16 engine.  It had alloy wheels.  The steering wheel and shift were made of matching wood and leather. 

Safety

Jaguar has improved steel reinforcement bars inside car doors.  To prevent car doors from popping open in accidents.  Jaguar cars have anti-bus locks.  These locks secure the door to the vehicle's door frame for added protection.  If a Jaguar is struck from behind, the occupants are protected from lip lash by both their seatbelts and built-in headrests.

 

The future of Jaguar

In 1997, the XJS series was replaced by a new series of Jaguar cars known as the XK8. The XK8 is the future of Jaguar. It was first shown to the public at car shows in Geneva and New York city early in 1996. The XK8 is available in coupe and convertibles models. It has a newly-designed V-8 engine called the AJ-V8. Like the classic Jaguars, the interior is leather with wood trim.