This article was written by Samuel Phineas Upham
William Lyons and William Walmsley, two motorcycle enthusiasts, started a car company in 1922. They called the business the Swallow Sidecar Company, and then SS Cars LTD. By 1935, when the company began releasing sportier models of its cars, it finally sported the logo for the name we know today.
Jaguar had to sell some of its assets off during World War II, but the company had good prospects for long term security at the time. Jaguar’s early body styles appealed to this post-war crowd, and when Jaguar purchased the company that manufactured six-liter engines for it, their future was all but secured.
The company has always prided itself on producing sporty cars with an eye-catching appeal, and it helped that their early entries also found success on racing circuits of the day.
For years, the Jaguar slogan was simply “Grace. Space. Pace.” This was a reference to the design principles of a roomy vehicle with style, and the ability to pick up speed quickly. Jaguar cars have two huge moments in the sport of racing worth clinging to. They finished first in the 24 hour race at Le Mans, and then two more times in 1956 and 1957.
Ford attempted to purchase Jaguar in the early 1990s, after its stock was pulled from the London Stock Exchange. It briefly joined the Ford Motor Group, but the company never made a profit under them. Jaguar is currently owned by the Indian motorcar company Tata Motors.
