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The Ultimate History of Jaguar

Part of the '8 DVD Box Set – Classic Cars' reviewed by John Cooper Running Time - 74 minutes www.greenumbrella.co.uk

From the very outset, you know what the mood and feel is going to be for the whole of the DVD as it starts with ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ being played over shots of a SS100, C-Type, D-Type, E-Type, TWR XJS and XJ220.

The flow of the DVD is very much a continuous timeline, which reflects the fact that for the majority of its history, the development of Jaguar’s race and road cars were inextricably linked.

This history is therefore reflected in the chapters of the DVD:

1. Sidecars and Swallows
2. Jaguar XK120 – a milestone car
3. Legends at Le Mans
4. The immortal E-Type
5. Space, Pace and Grace
6. Jaguar’s World Champions
7. The 200mph Jaguar
8. The debut of the XK8
9. 21st Century Saloons

The story starts back in 1922 Blackpool with William Lyons and the often forgotten William Walmsley making Swallow sidecars before moving onto creating bodies for other cars. Their first car was the SS2 in 1931, shortly to be followed by the larger and more glamorous SS1. Interestingly, whilst it is often assumed that SS stood for swallow Sidecars, this was never actually confirmed by Lyons. Walmsley left the company in 1934.

During the war years, the company returned to its roots manufacturing military sidecars before re-emerging from the war under the new Jaguar name for obvious reasons.

The war years were an interesting and important time for Jaguar as this was when the XK series engines were designed. The engine was ready in 1948 but the saloon it had been intended for was not, so a 2-seater sports car was produced to showcase the engine. They adopted the convention of incorporating the cars top speed into the name, and the XK120 was born. This said, when it was demonstrated in Jabekke, Belgium, it achieved 132mph.

The history progresses through the XK120C (‘C’ for competition) that became the C-Type, the D-Type and its road-going alter ego the XKSS, the E-Type introduced in 1961, and beyond.

It’s impossible to talk about this period of Jaguar’s history without extensive coverage of Le Mans, which the DVD duly provides including interviews with Sir Stirling Moss.

For completeness, though probably of lesser interest to many of you, the story is brought up to date with the XJ220 (which like the Aston Martin DVD includes extensive interviews with the designer), the XK8 and the most recent X-Type and S-Type models.

In summary, a thoroughly enjoyable documentary about a quintessentially British marque.