At the end of May 2024, Jaguar showed the world the three final internal combustion cars to come off the lines at its Castle Bromwich Plant, which dates back to the 1930s.
It will now be retooled to create body panels for Jag’s upcoming electric vehicles. It was a sad day for me, and not because I don’t like electric vehicles. There are quite a few that I’d happily use as my daily car, but I do think that certain car brands should be exempt from making the transition to total electrification because it might result in their downfall. Thankfully, Jaguar still sells the F-Pace, but who knows how long that will last?
Where do we draw the line? Personally, I think somebody with a high-ranking government job and deep knowledge of the automotive industry needs to look at a brand’s heritage to decide whether it can continue to build angry gas-guzzling cars. Legacy is the key, which is why I don’t mind EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Tesla Model 3, but I hate the idea of an Alfa Romeo without a V6 or a Jaguar without an internal combustion engine.
But what is Jaguar’s legacy? There are many car brands and car models out there you can label as ‘gangsta’. We’ll admit we cringed a little typing that. Anyway. A Mercedes-Maybach is gangsta, as is the Cadillac Escalade. Jaguar, however, is punk. Jaguar is Black Flag on four wheels, and its history of badass behavior dates back to the origins of the very factory where the British automaker built its three final ICE cars
JAGUAR
Jaguar is a premium car manufacturer from the UK, currently owned by the broader Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group. Originally a producer of motorcycle sidecars from 1922 (under the name Swallow Sidecar Company), the manufacturer later moved to the production of passenger car bodies under the ownership of SS Cars from 1935. In 1945, SS Cars was renamed to Jaguar Cars. The manufacturer has a historic back catalog of vehicles, notably the XK, E-Type, and XJ220, with modern hits including the F-Type and F-Pace. Jaguar has pledged to become an all-electric automaker starting in 2025, with production of all combustion cars ceasing early in 2024.
Founded
September 1935
Founder
SS Cars
Headquarters
Coventry, United Kingdom
Owned By
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
Current CEO
Adrian Mardell
What Made Jaguars So Special?
Jaguar is special because of all the anti-authority anecdotes tied to the brand. The first is the tale of how the E-Type made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961. Jaguar had one hand-made prototype, which it sent to a few British publications before the grand unveiling in Switzerland. The car was fully booked and journalists tested the top speed on the famous M1 freeway because no other testing facilities were available. Thankfully, nobody crashed the only car, but there was a problem.
When the final journalist finished spanking the new E-Type, Jaguar had less than 24 hours to get from Coventry to Parc des Eaux-Vives in Geneva. That’s roughly 750 miles and one ferry crossing between the UK and France. A Jag executive, Bob Berry, made it with 20 minutes to spare. Just enough to give the car a quick wash. Rumor has it that the car was still making ticking noises as it cooled down on the stand.
Then there’s the connection to the famous gangsters of London, who liked Jaguars because they were much faster than police cars. The notorious Kray twins traveled around in an MK X, equipped with a 4.2-liter inline-six. It was the widest car Jaguar ever made until the XJ220 supercar came along many decades later. It wasn’t the best getaway car, but it made a statement. The Mk2 was another gangster favorite but for more practical reasons. It had seating for five adults and enough room left over to transport whatever bounty they’d taken. The 3.8-liter inline-six gave the police such headaches that they eventually buckled under the pressure and purchased Jaguars, too.
In short, Jaguar unwittingly became the bad boy of the automotive industry, and who doesn’t love a bad boy? And let’s not forget about that six-cylinder sound. Imagine living in London during the peak ‘rozzers’ versus gangsters battle. The inline-six noises bouncing around in Soho must have been a treat, but don’t take my work for it. Listen to an E-Type in action below.
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