Jaguar (Paul Skilleter)

Author: Paul Skilleter, Hardbound, 112 Pages, ISBN: 9780861246175 1990, comes in 2 different covers, 2nd hand book, very good condition

Jaguar suddenly hurtled back into the headlines during the 1980s after a decade in the wilderness.

Not only did the legendary big cats return to Le Mans, but the company itself underwent successful privatization and was taken over by Ford. (New owners Tata Corporation were not in the picture at the time this book was published)

Such mega-buck maneuverings all seemed a far cry from the days of the independent Swallow Sidecar Company of the 1930s.

Founded mainly on the talents and energies of William Lyons, Swallow Sidecars succeeded in producing an attractive performance car at a much lower cost than their competitors.

For nearly fifty years Lyons' policy of using as many mass-produced components as possible paid off, and the Jaguar name became synonymous with affordable, luxury motoring.

Having produced some swift and sleek saloons during the 1930s, as well as the all-time classic sports car the SS 100. the company emerged from the war years as Jaguar Cars with the design for a sedan car supposedly scribbled on the back of a cigarette packet during an air raid.

The straight-six engine was too good not to have a sports car body, and Lyons dashed off a design within six weeks.

The resulting XK 120 s the 1948 London Motor Show and gave birth to a series of collectors' cars which are still sought after today.

This series was followed by the pioneering C-type and D-type racers which came to dominate the Le Mans circuit during the 1950s. Concentrating mainly on road car development during the 1960s and '70s (and producing the outstanding E-type),

Jaguar has now recaptured former glories on road and track with the successful Xi 6 and XJ 220 designs.

Paul Skilleter's fascinating and authoritative account is accompanied by brilliant color photography that captures the drama and excitement of some of the most stylish sports cars in the world.