DESIGN ARCHIVE: JAGUAR
Design Archive: Jaguar
Est. 1922
Locations: Coventry, Gaydon & Birmingham (UK)
Jaguar is a successful British luxury car manufacturer with a long and illustrious heritage dating back to the early beginnings of the automotive industry. It has an extensive historic vehicle collection and archive at The Jaguar Heritage Museum which is run by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and is located at the site of the former Jaguar factory in Browns Lane, Coventry
In recent years, Jaguar has manufactured cars for the British Prime Minister along with holding royal warrants from HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Charles. Its iconic cars are designed at its engineering centres at Gaydon in Warwickshire and Whitley in Coventry, being assembled nearby at its Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham.
This globally renowned automotive company originated with a £1000 loan made in 1922 to William Lyons and his partner William Walmsley to establish The Swallow Sidecar Company, a manufacturer of stylish aluminium motorcycle sidecars, based in Blackpool, England. A clever businessman, Lyons later realised that future success lay in the development of the emerging automobile market and so realigned the business to focus on coach built cars, which later evolved into stylish but affordable luxury saloons. Along with affordability and performance, Lyons was particularly obsessed with styling. Building cars with ‘outrageously’ long bonnets that were low to the ground for a sleeker aesthetic appeal, his SS I sports coupé of 1931 was reported by one newspaper as a car that had the look of a £1000 car and yet cost only £310. These three attributes, style, performance and affordability remain three key values of the company to this day.
In 1934, Walmsley left the company, leaving Lyons to pursue his automotive ambitions alone. This led onto the new SS 'Jaguar' range in 1935, from which of course the company subsequently derived its name.
Following on from these successful beginnings, further innovative design and engineering development led inevitably into competitive racing. Two of the proudest eras in Jaguar's long history in motor sport involved winning the Le Mans 24 hours race five times in the 1950s (1951, 1953,1955, 1956 and 1957) and again three decades later with the TWR Jaguar team in 1988 and 1990.
The Browns Lane museum houses a selection from Jaguar Heritage's collection of over 140 historic vehicles and offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of the company. Each vehicle on display is a true icon of a by-gone era and symbolises a significant milestone in the continuing development and growth of Jaguar Cars and its associated companies. Alongside the vehicles are classic photographs of iconic drivers and race winners, advertisements, trophies and displays charting the history of innovative engine design and other significant achievements. The collection was originally established in the mid-1950s when William Lyons brought together some of his early models, which can now be seen alongside classic Jaguar racing cars and other iconic models from the more recent past. Images, brochures and factory records from the Jaguar Heritage archives also give valuable insights into how these beautiful cars were produced.
Amongst the many significant vehicles in the collection, are examples of the original 1935 SS1 Airline and the 1937 SS Jaguar saloon. Motor sport is represented (amongst others) with the 1953 Jaguar C-type, two D-Types (1954 and 1956) and the unique XJ13 racecar. The collection also includes a number of examples of the E-type, perhaps the most iconic Jaguar of all time, which created such a huge sensation when it was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961. The E-type went on to become an icon of the “Swinging 60s”… on a par with the Beatles and the mini skirt. Subsequently it became the car of choice for celebrities of the time such as George Best, Brigitte Bardot, Steve McQueen and Tony Curtis; just as previous Jaguars had before...
Other innovations, of course happened underneath the beautiful exterior styling of the Jaguar cars. In 1948, engineers at the company also helped create a legend in the automotive world, as the all-new and highly advanced XK engine made its debut in the revered XK120 sports car. The XK remains to this day a key reference to the DNA of the company, with successive cars sporting the same dynamic driving experience, eye for detail, proportion and engineering reliability.
Other notable cars from Jaguar include the XK120/140/150 (1950s), the Mark ll and XJ6 (1960s), the XJ-S (1970s) and the XJ220 and XK8 (1990s). There are many other vehicles worthy of note that also represent key design innovations of their time – too many to be able to list them all here.
A significant part of Jaguar’s reputation has been built on the skills of a remarkably talented series of entrepreneurs, engineers, drivers and designers, including:
William Lyons who, as well as establishing the company, designed some of the most celebrated Jaguars, including the XK120, the Mark II and the XJ6. Knighted in 1956, Sir William worked until 1972.
Norman Dewis, as Jaguar’s chief development test engineer, spent 36 years deciding how the company’s cars should feel to drive. The achievement he is proudest of is developing the disc brake with Dunlop, an innovation that has saved countless lives over the years.
Bill Heynes was instrumental in developing the XK straight-six engine. He also played a key role in the design engineering of Jaguar’s Le Mans winners, the C-Type and D-Type, as well as the E-type. He was awarded the CBE in 1969, shortly before he retired from Jaguar.
Malcolm Sayer was steeped in the principles of aerodynamics by the time he joined Jaguar in 1952. Sayer helped to shape Jaguar’s first Le Mans winner, the C-Type, and went on to design the iconic D-Type, XJ13 and E-type, with their beautiful and streamlined profiles. Sayer’s working methods involved plotting the co-ordinates of complex curves with slide rules and logarithmic tables and he also pioneered the use of wind tunnels to test a car’s aerodynamic properties. Sayer’s last car was the XJ-S though, sadly, he died in 1970, before it went into production.
Ian Callum, Jaguar’s current design director, has been acknowledged as one of the world's foremost automotive designers. A graduate of at the Royal College of Art’s Vehicle Design course he went on to work on projects at Ford including the Ford RS200 mid-engined sports car and the Escort RS Cosworth. After a spell as design manager at the Ghia Design Studio in Turin, he returned to the UK to join TWR Group as chief designer. It was there that he revived Aston Martin’s famous DB series with the DB7 as well as creating the Vanquish and DB9. He joined Jaguar in 1999 where, as Design Director, he has led the design teams in the creation of a new design language for Jaguar that first appeared on the latest XK range and has subsequently re-established Jaguar's sports saloon credentials with the XF and the all new XJ. He has also been instrumental in creating the R-Coupe and RD-6 concept cars, as well as Jaguar's latest creations, the C-X75 electric concept car - unveiled to universal acclaim at the 2010 Paris Motor Show – and the exciting new F-TYPE sports car that is set to be the spiritual successor to the E-type.
In today’s highly competitive automotive market, Jaguar continues to go from strength to strength, representing the modern face of successful British design, engineering and manufacturing. Perhaps unsurprising as the company remains true to its key objectives of designing innovative and beautiful performance cars, just as William Lyons and his successors did back in the company’s former days.
Obsessionistas would like to personally thank Ian Callum, Design Director of Jaguar, for helping us gain access to the company’s rich design archive collection. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Neil McPherson, Anders Clausager and particularly Karam Ram and Jonathan Partridge of the Jaguar Heritage Museum.
Visit the Jaguar website here
Visit the Jaguar Heritage website here
All images © Jaguar Heritage and published with kind permission.