Description
Authors: Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Hardbound, 296 Pages, ISBN: 9781859608401, First Edition, September 2001 - Second -Hand book in very good condition - Yellowed pages **
Jaguar is one of the most famous cars in the world. Its origins, however, can be traced to a humble backstreet workshop in Blackpool producing a handful of motorcycle sidecars, the idea of a 20-year-old called William Lyons.
Thanks to Lyons's ambition and flair, the company prospered, progressing through coachbuilding into car manufacture. In 1935, when still only 34, Lyons created the first Jaguars: low-slung, fast and affordable, they soon ranked among Britain's leading luxury cars.
Knighted in 1956, Lyons was the heart and soul of the company he created, directing it single-handedly until he retired in 1972. He combined a shrewd business brain with a remarkable talent for styling, his masterpieces including the XK120 and XJ6 models. His legacy lives on as today's Jaguars perpetuate his unique formula of elegance, refinement and power.
Published to mark the centenary of Lyons's birth, this long-awaited biography examines both his astonishing career and his intensely private life in unprecedented detail, thanks to the willing co-operation of his family and unrestricted access to the Sir William Lyons archive held by the Jaguar
Daimler Heritage Trust.
It studies his business style and the awesome challenges he had to overcome. Sir William Lyons has been described as Britain's last great motor industry patriarch. This book reveals both the facts and the very human figure behind the legend.
Philip Porter is the author of 15 books about Jaguar, including the award-winning Jaguar E-type — The Definitive History (1989), Jaguar Sports Racing Cars (1995) and Jaguar XK8 — The Authorised Biography (1996).
His Jaguar collection includes several XKs, the Italian Job E-type and 9600 HP, the oldest E-type in existence. He and his wife live in a Tudor farmhouse in Worcestershire and other interests include The Sherlock Holmes Society, Jerome K. Jerome Society, racing airships and running the international XK Club.
Paul Skilleter, who began his career on Motor magazine, has been writing about Jaguars since 1967 and knew many of Sir William Lyons's original team well.
His six books on Jaguar include two award-winning standard works, Jaguar Sports Cars (1975) and Jaguar Saloons (1980). He has owned many key Jaguars including SS 100, XK 120, Mk 2, E-type and XJ6. In 1980 he founded Practical Classics magazine and in 1988 Jaguar World magazine, which he still edits from his Hampshire home.
