Editing Jaguar Cars (section)

===Founding===
The [[Swallow Sidecar Company]] was founded in 1922 by two motorcycle enthusiasts, [[William Lyons]] and [[William Walmsley]]. In 1934, Walmsley elected to sell-out and in order to buy the Swallow business (but not the company which was liquidated) Lyons formed [[SS Cars]], finding new capital by issuing shares to the public.

Jaguar first appeared in September 1935 as a model name on an SS 2½-litre [[saloon (car)|sports saloon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Design Evolution: 80 Years of Jaguar – Part 1 |url=https://www.jaguar.com/about-jaguar/80-years-of-jaguar/80-years-of-jaguar-part-1.html |website=Jaguar |publisher=Jaguar Land Rover |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jaguar.com/uk/en/company/overview/heritage/1932_1935.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601055210/http://www.jaguar.com/uk/en/company/overview/heritage/1932_1935.htm|archive-date=1 June 2009|title=The Years 1932 to 1935 |publisher=Jaguar Cars Ltd. |access-date=26 December 2008 }}</ref> A matching open two seater sports model with a 3½-litre engine was named [[SS Jaguar 100]].

On 23 March 1945, the S. S. Cars shareholders in general meeting agreed to change the company's name to Jaguar Cars Limited. Said chairman William Lyons "Unlike S. S. the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name."<ref>S.S. Cars Limited ''[[The Times]]'' 4 April 1945 page 10</ref>

Though five years of pent-up demand ensured plenty of buyers production was hampered by shortage of materials, particularly steel, issued to manufacturers until the 1950s by a central planning authority under strict government control.  Jaguar sold [[Motor Panels]], a pressed steel body manufacturing company bought in the late 1930s, to steel and components manufacturer [[Rubery Owen]],<ref name=Motor197202>{{cite journal| title =The Lyons share – interview with WL| journal = Motor| pages = 18–21|date = 19 February 1972}}</ref> and Jaguar bought from [[John Black (businessman)|John Black]]'s [[Standard Motor Company]] the plant where Standard built Jaguar's six-cylinder engines.<ref name=Motor197202/> From this time Jaguar was entirely dependent for their bodies on external suppliers, in particular then independent [[Pressed Steel Company|Pressed Steel]] and in 1966 that carried them into BMC, BMH and British Leyland.

[[File:1953 Jaguar C-Type - fvr.jpg|left|thumb|1953 [[Jaguar C-Type]]]]
[[File:1956JaguarD-TypeLongNose.jpg|left|thumb|1956 [[Jaguar D-Type]]]]

Jaguar made its name by producing a series of successful eye-catching sports cars, the [[Jaguar XK120]] (1948–54), [[Jaguar XK140]] (1954–57), [[Jaguar XK150]] (1957–61), and [[Jaguar E-Type]] (1961–75), all embodying Lyons' mantra of "value for money".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://silkcat.ca/articles/jaguar/ |title=Jaguar |access-date=22 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109021252/http://silkcat.ca/articles/jaguar/ |archive-date=9 January 2014 }}</ref> The sports cars were successful in international motorsport, a path followed in the 1950s to prove the engineering integrity of the company's products.

Jaguar's sales slogan for years was "Grace, Space, Pace",<ref name="Grace, Space, Pace">"The classic has to be "Grace... Space... Pace," which was used throughout the 1950s and 1960s". {{cite web |url=http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1156667&page=0 |publisher=MSN |year=2010 |title=Jaguar: A History of Grace and Pace |last=Clausager |first=Anders Ditlev |access-date=2 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327205555/http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1156667&page=0 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a mantra epitomised by the record sales achieved by the MK VII, IX, Mks I and II saloons and later the XJ6.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} During the time this slogan was used, but the exact text varied.<ref name="C4Wauto-3368553">{{cite web |url=http://www.jaguar-world.com/blogs/editors-blog/773-january-issue-of-jaguar-world-editors-welcome |title=Grace… Space… Pace |work=jaguar-world.com |date=13 December 2012 |access-date=27 March 2014 |first=Paul |last=Walton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327205958/http://www.jaguar-world.com/blogs/editors-blog/773-january-issue-of-jaguar-world-editors-welcome |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="C4Wauto-9442418">{{cite web |url=http://www.themomentmagazine.com/motoring/jaguar-75-years-of-grace-space-and-pace/ |title=Jaguar: 75 Years of Grace, Space and Pace |work=themomentmagazine.com |date=19 November 2010 |access-date=27 March 2014 |first=Brave Creative |last=Peterborough}}</ref><ref name="C4Wauto-4937047">{{cite web |url=http://typophile.com/files/1306381302_a13c957db6_4840.jpg |title=1306381302_a13c957db6_4840.jpg (JPEG Image, 374 × 500 pixels) |work=typophile.com |date=28 August 2011 |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327210823/http://typophile.com/files/1306381302_a13c957db6_4840.jpg |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="C4Wauto-4268228">{{cite web |url=http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwqh6th15q1qchs1zo1_1280.jpg |title=tumblr_lwqh6th15q1qchs1zo1_1280.jpg (JPEG Image, 1280 × 1256 pixels) |work=31.media.tumblr.com |date=24 December 2011 |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327210910/http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwqh6th15q1qchs1zo1_1280.jpg |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The core of Bill Lyons' success following the [[Second World War]] was the [[Jaguar XK6 engine|twin-cam straight six]] engine, conceived pre-war and realised while engineers at the Coventry plant were dividing their time between fire-watching and designing the new power plant.  It had a hemispherical cross-flow cylinder head with valves inclined from the vertical; originally at 30&nbsp;degrees (inlet) and 45&nbsp;degrees (exhaust) and later standardised to 45 degrees for both inlet and exhaust.

As fuel [[octane]] ratings were relatively low from 1948 onwards, three piston configuration were offered: domed (high octane), flat (medium octane), and dished (low octane).

The main designer, [[William Heynes]], assisted by [[Walter Hassan]], was determined to develop the Twin [[Overhead camshaft|OHC]] unit. Bill Lyons agreed over misgivings from Hassan. It was risky to take what had previously been considered a racing or low-volume and cantankerous engine needing constant fettling and apply it to reasonable volume production saloon cars.

The subsequent engine (in various versions) was the mainstay powerplant of Jaguar, used in the XK 120, Mk VII Saloon, Mk I and II Saloons and XK 140 and 150. It was also employed in the E Type, itself a development from the race winning and Le Mans conquering C and D Type Sports Racing cars refined as the short-lived XKSS, a road-legal D-Type.

[[File:Jaguar e-type.jpg|thumb|[[Jaguar E-Type]] Convertible]]
[[File:Jaguar XK6 engine 1.jpg|right|thumb|[[Jaguar XK6 engine|XK engine]] in a [[Jaguar E-Type]]]]
[[File:Daimler Super V8 (3).png|thumb|[[Daimler Company|Daimler]] Super V8 (1998)]]
Few engine types have demonstrated such ubiquity and longevity: Jaguar used the Twin OHC ''XK Engine'', as it came to be known, in the Jaguar XJ6 saloon from 1969 through 1992, and employed in a J60 variant as the power plant in such diverse vehicles as the British Army's [[Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)]] family of vehicles, as well as the [[Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle]], the [[Ferret armoured car|Ferret Scout Car]], and the Stonefield four-wheel-drive all-terrain lorry. Properly maintained, the standard production XK Engine would achieve 200,000 miles of useful life.

Two of the proudest moments in Jaguar's long history in motor sport involved winning the [[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans 24 hours race]], firstly in 1951 and again in 1953. Victory at the 1955 Le Mans was overshadowed by it being the occasion of [[1955 Le Mans disaster|the worst motorsport accident in history]]. Later in the hands of the Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse two more wins were added in 1956 and 1957.

In spite of such a performance orientation, it was always Lyons' intention to build the business by producing world-class sporting saloons in larger numbers than the sports car market could support. Jaguar secured financial stability and a reputation for excellence with a series of elegantly styled luxury saloons that included the 3-litre and 3½ litre cars, the Mark VII, VIII, and IX, the compact Mark I and 2, and the XJ6 and XJ12. All were deemed very good values, with comfortable rides, good handling, high performance, and great style.

Combined with the trend-setting XK 120, XK 140, and XK 150 series of sports car, and nonpareil E-Type,{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} Jaguar's elan as a prestige motorcar manufacturer had few rivals. The company's post-War achievements are remarkable, considering both the shortages that drove Britain (the [[Ministry of Supply]] still allocated raw materials) and the state of metallurgical development of the era.