Jaguar
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known more popularly as Jaguar, is a luxury and sports car manufacturer, based in England. Swallow Sidecar Company, founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley, two motorcycle enthusiasts who originally made motorcycle sidecars before developing passenger cars. In 1935 the SS Jaguar name first appeared on 2.5-litre saloon sports models, called the SS 90 and SS 100, in a London Auto show. The letters "SS" eventually dropped from the company name after WWII, to avoid unfavourable implications, leaving the company being called “Jaguar”.
After the war, the company debuted its first sports car, the XK 120, at the 1948 auto show in Earls Court. Lyons intended on only building 200 of the cars. However, the demand for the striking body with a top speed of 120 mph was too great. He then began mass production. Jaguar followed the success of the XK 120 with its C-type, or competition type, cars of the 1950s. In its own factories, Jag had created the iconic, long-nosed E-type, which debuted in 1961. In 1966, Lyons announced that Jaguar would merge with British Motor Corporation, though he would stay on as a consultant. In 1968, the 4.2-litre Series 2 debuted, followed by the ill-conceived V12 Series 3 E-type of 1971.
Jaguar continues to build X-type cars, both sedans and coupes, with a sporting heritage. The latest line-up includes theXJ,XK, and XF.