Part 2
Having achieved success with their first 4-door saloon, Lyons
now directed his attention to developing a true sports car. The
result was the very stylish SS 100. Philip
Porter put it this way, "The SS 100 was the company's first genuine sports car
and to many people it remains the epitome of the stylish pre-war sports car,
Lyons at his flamboyant best. The beautiful, flowing feline shape
suggested speed and when the new 3.5 litre engine was added to the
range, a car of vivid performance was the result". And once again,
the new sports car proved an excellent value for the money.
Lyons had been correct in anticipating the kind of car the
public wanted and so demand was high. It became necessary to
change from wooden frame construction to pressed steel in the
saloons in order to meet this demand. Finding a good, reliable
supplier of pressed steel was difficult and ruined many a good auto
maker trying to make this transition during the depression. Jaguar
was fortunate and able to survive this period of the late '30's.
During the war years, 1939-45, Lyons and company helped out
with the war production effort. Key aircraft components were
manufactured at the Coventry factory and became airborne parts on
Lancasters, Stirlings, Mosquitos and Spitfires. They also
manufactured everything from sidecars to a lightweight "jeep" type
vehicle. All during the war, Lyons made sure his best engineers
were always on "fire watch" duty together so Jaguars of the future
could start to take shape. Production techniques were refined and
advanced engineering ideas were tried including independent front
suspension and talk of a new, more powerful engine.
Immediately following the war, Lyons resumed production of
the saloon & drophead coupes. Officially listed as the 1 1/2, 2 1/2
and 3 1/2 litre saloons and drophead coupes, they would later be
referred to as "Mark IV's". Unfortunately, SS100 production did not
resume and it would be another four years before the introduction of
the next sports car. The war necessitated another change. From now
on, the name of the company would be Jaguar Cars, Ltd. since the SS
initials now had a very unpleasant connotation.
During this time, British manufacturers were encouraged to
export goods overseas and as a result, Jaguar discovered a very
willing market in North America and began establishing a network of
dealerships. Although the American market was to play a significant
role for Jaguar in the years ahead, it was known to give Lyons fits at
times. Several years later, Lyons gave the following instructions to
the new Export Manager, John Morgan "I'm not going to accept crazy
marketing plans for America because I don't believe in it. It's a
volatile market".
One of Lyons' all consuming passions had been to produce a
luxury saloon capable of 100 mph. The Mark IV with its 3.5 litre
pushrod engine fell short of fulfilling that dream and so plans were
underway to develop an engine capable of attaining his goal. The
new Mark V, introduced in 1948 used the same engine as the "IV",
but came with a restyled body on a new chassis with independent
front suspension. But still the 100 mph barrier was just beyond
reach.
Having achieved success with the new Mark V chassis, Bill
Heynes now turned his attention to developing a new engine capable
of 160 bhp. The team Bill Heynes assembled to develop this engine
included Harry Weslake and Claude Baily. Not coincidentally, this
was the same group that spent many a fire watch together during
the war.
Incorporating a hemispherical head and twin overhead
camshafts, the XK engine first appeared in 1948, but not in the new
Mark V as many anticipated. Instead Lyons decided to display the
new engine in a car specially built for the 1948 Motor Show. The XK
120 was hurriedly conceived as a show case for the new engine and
it was only planned to produce 200 of these special cars. The idea
was to test the new engine in the XK120s to prove the engine's
durability in preparation for the Mark VII.
The new two-seater sports car with the XK engine was capable
of 120 mph (hence the 120 designation). It proved such an
overwhelming success that plans were made to expand the
production beyond the original 200 that were envisioned. This car of
course went on to become one of the all-time true classics and
heralded the return of Jaguar to sports car production.
A "Mark VI" never came about because Bentley was already
using that designation and so Jaguar jumped right to the Mark VII
which was introduced in 1950. This was the first saloon to receive
the new XK engine and finally Lyons dream of a 100 mph saloon was
realized.
The early '50's are significant because it saw Jaguar officially
enter racing. Previous to this, individuals had campaigned various
Jaguars on their own but in 1950 Lyons was convinced that his new
cars wouldn't in his words, "embarrass themselves", and so agreed to
campaigning his new sports car on the racing circuit with company
support. He was very aware of the potential prestige enhancement
(and increased sales) that could result from successful achievements
on the race course, especially LeMans.
Back then racing was viewed as cheap advertising and Lyons
felt confident he had the products to compete. Although the new XK
120 was a very capable sports car, Lyons realized it would require
modification to compete on the world circuit.
In very short time Malcolm Sayer, with a background in aircraft
design, redesigns the XK 120 body shell to make it more aerodynamic.
Heynes redesigned a lighter racing suspension and the new racer was given
the code name "C-type" for competition. The design was not only more
efficient, but it also looked very impressive as well. Such was the
design talent of Malcolm Sayer, another Lyons hire. Like very few
others, Sayer was uniquely able to artistically incorporate beautiful
styling in a car along with the elements of aerodynamic design. His
greatest achievements were yet to come in the form of the "D and E-
types". Malcolm Sayer would soon be known as the "other" Jaguar
stylist, second only to Lyons himself in creating the Jaguar look.
Part 3
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