In 1958 Jaguar launched the MK IX which caught the attention of the industry once again with technical innovations (disc brakes) and superlative performance (a 3.8 litre engine). The marque’s place among the elite brands of British motoring was secured.
However Lyons also wanted to extend Jaguars market share of the family car segment and to this end the company produced the Jaguar compact saloon in 1955. Although not conceived as a sports model this was certainly no slouch, powered as it was with a 2.4 litre unit. However Lyons was not satisfied with this and upgraded the model to accommodate a 3.4 litre unit that had been proven in the company’s sports models.
Even a perfectionist like Lyons could find no fault with the Jaguar MK2 (1959). The model was not only widely deemed flawless in design but also offered an unparalleled palette of engine options ranging from 2.4 litres through to 3.8.
With its dynamic performance and executive ambiance the MK2 became known as the “Business Man’s Express”. The police also began to use the vehicle. Moreover when Jaguar bought Daimler in 1960 Lyon’s brand acquired an association with the British monarchy (up until that point Daimler had been the transport of choice for the house of Windsor). At the Geneva motor show in 1961 Lyons personally introduced that most iconic of roadsters, the E-type. From the Avengers to James Bond the model was to be visually emblematic of the coming decade.
In the late 60s Jaguar introduced the timelessly elegant X J6. For the American market the car was fitted with a 12 cylinder engine from the E-type. This represented another milestone for the automobile sector since this 12 cylinder unit was the first of its type to go into serial production in post-war Europe. Furthermore, this power plant represented Lyons’ last masterpiece before he went into retirement in 1972. By this time he had been honoured with a knighthood.
The decade following Lyons retirement represented something of a “Dark Age” for Jaguar. This is connected to the British Leyland takeover when something of the Lyons ethos was subsumed by the mainstream Leyland brand with it’s utilarian production values. When John Egan reprivatised the firm in 1980 standards were restored to an extent.
At the end of the 80s Jaguar was assimilated into the Ford group but retained enough independence to pursue the development of new models. At this time the XJ series was reworked and this went some way to polishing up the image of the marque which had suffered a great deal of damage under the Leyland administration. The XK8, the new E-type, was greeted as a worthy successor to the 60s icon.
At the turn of the millennium further models, such as the new S-type, finally laid the Leyland ghost to rest. Finally, the cars again combined elegance with reliability. On this basis it is not surprising that popularity of the marquee began to rise too and indeed the new X –type was the first Jaguar to sell 100,000 vehicles. In Germany the marque has retained a cult following despite the furious competition in the luxury car sector. Such enthusiasts are not deterred by high
Autoversicherung , or insurance costs, although these can always be mitigated by comparing prices via an online
Preisvergleich.
