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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Jaguar Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary
British marque traces lineage to first 1935 SS 100 branded with Jaguar name.
SPEED Staff  |  Posted January 30, 2010   Coventry (GB)
The SS 100 sports car, launched in 1935, was the first car dubbed Jaguar. (Photo: Jaguar)
Jaguar celebrates its 75th anniversary during 2010, marking the date from the 1935 launch of the SS 100 sports car, the first car to wear the Jaguar name.

The anniversary will be celebrated at automotive events around the world, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival in Great Britain; the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida and the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach in the United States; and at the Mille Miglia classic in Italy.

Jaguar also returns to the racetrack this year with its new RSR XKR GT2 to compete in the American Le Mans Series.

"In 2010, we celebrate our past and 75 years of designing and building cars that celebrate the art of automobile making,” said Mike O'Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar Cars. “We're also celebrating the promise of the future, and the introduction of the all-new XJ sedan.”

William Lyons founded Swallow Sidecars in 1922 and went on to create a range of SS-branded motorcycle sidecars and automobiles in the 1920s and early 1930s. When it came to the launch of the all-new SS 100 in 1935, Lyons wanted a new and evocative name for his cars. After asking his advertising agency for suggestions, Lyons chose a daring new name, and the SS 100 sports car became the world's first Jaguar.

The Jaguar name was an ideal choice. It represented a feline grace and elegance, plus the power and agility that set Lyon’s cars apart. He once said that a car "was the closest thing we can create to something that is alive;" a sentiment that has stood the test of time. That new brand name captured the essence of all of the cars created from that point forward.

Over the years, Jaguar has built some of the world's most iconic cars. The XK120, introduced in the late 1940s, was an instant sensation and the most glamorous sports car of the period. The C Type and D Type race cars dominated motor racing in the 1950s.

The E-Type, launched in the heady 1960s, is often noted as the most beautiful car ever built, and it inspired a whole generation. Sports cars have always defined Jaguar, but the company has also built some of the industry's most memorable sedans, such as the Mark II of the early 1960s and the renowned XJ.

“Jaguar design over the next 75 years must respect and reflect on the past 75 while continuing to push boundaries of technology, luxury and sporting style,” said Ian Callum, Jaguar design director. “Designing cars with a presence that demands a turn of the head and an allure that pulls at the heart has been central to the Jaguar brand throughout the years."

Now owned by Tata Motors of India, Jaguar continues to build on its heritage with advanced designs, such as the new XF and XFR sedans. As well as the new XJ sedan coming this year, Jaguar will soon present an updated version of its XK grand-touring coupe and convertible.

"The development of our new range of cars is all part of making Jaguar the modern, sporting company that it was under our founder Sir Williams Lyons, a company that made its name creating cars that were innovative, exciting and always original,” O'Driscoll said.

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