Shot of Jaguar’s last V8 sports car archived in the British Library as the brand goes electric in 2025
With the F-Type 75 ending a 75-year bloodline of pure combustion Jaguar sports cars, here’s a quick look back at five of the models ingrained in the British marque’s famed history…
Jaguar’s sports car bloodline dates back to the 1948 XK120, which became the foundation of the marque’s models for the next 40 years
1948 – Jaguar XK120
It is known that the XK120 was designed in just a few months by founder and ‘Mr Jaguar’, William Lyons. Yet it became an icon.
This was the first sports car to fully bear the Jaguar name, after production of the SS Jaguar 100 – produced by SS Cars which later became Jaguar – ceased production in 1940.
The XK120 had a 3.4-litre twin cam inline six-cylinder engine that was so advanced for its time that it remained the DNA of the ‘XK’ range and its wider road models for the next 40 years.
The name ‘120’ is derived from the fact that it could reach speeds of up to 200 km/h. While that’s about the same as a popular supermini by today’s standards, it was a phenomenon at a time when the average family car struggled to make the top 70.
The dramatic flowing lines that made it so distinctive are said to be a combination of Lyons’ love of motorcycles, but also draw on post-WWII aircraft design techniques and it was the first Jaguar model to feature the vertically ribbed oval grille – a hallmark of the brand for the next two decades.
It also helped create the legendary C-Type in 1951, which today is still regarded by many as the most beautiful racing machine of all time.
The XKSS was based on the D-Type racer. Only 25 would be built, although only 16 left the factory in 1957, with the nine surviving cars destroyed in a fire
1957 – Jaguar XKSS
Jaguar was a serious contender in the racing world in the 1950s and in 1954 it launched a thoroughbred attack on the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the arrival of the utterly stunning D-Type.
Although winning in 1955, the event was tainted by the Le Mans disaster, which remains one of motorsport’s darkest days to this day, which killed 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh. For the next two years, the D-Type was piloted to victory in the French endurance race.
In 1957 – the same year it scored a hat-trick of Le Mans victories – Jaguar produced the XKSS, a road-going version of the D-Type racing car.
In 2016 Jaguar announced it would recreate the nine ‘lost’ models with a small run of ‘sequel’ XKSS, all of which were hand built to original specifications
The King of Cool, Steve McQueen was the famous owner of one of the 16 original cars. It was a lightning fast road machine for its generation
Sharing the racer’s 262bhp 3.4-litre straight-six engine, it was a ferocious car for the road.
Only 16 were built and sold at the time, with a further nine units lost in a fire that broke out at the company’s Browns Lane, Allesley factory in Coventry. The King of Cool, Steve McQueen was the famous owner of one of the 16 original cars.
In 2016, Jaguar announced it would recreate the nine ‘lost’ models with a small run of ‘sequel’ XKSS, all of which were hand-built to original specifications to complete the planned output of 25 cars.
Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons pictured at the official launch of the E-Type at Parc des Eaux Vives for the 1961 Geneva Motor Show
1961 – Jaguar E-Type
If Enzo Ferrari calls it ‘the most beautiful car ever made’ then you have to believe it.
The Jaguar E-Type is one of the most beloved examples of British car design and is still celebrated as one of the most desirable engines you could wish for.
Like the XK120 before it, when the E-Type premiered at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, it dwarfed any rival and forever changed the landscape of performance cars.
Enzo Ferrari reportedly famously said the E-Type Jaguar was the ‘most beautiful car ever made’, and few would contradict him
The E-Type was produced over three generations of the series until 1974, with a total production of 67,300 cars. These days they are all worth a pretty penny
Under the extended hood is a 3.8 liter six-in-line engine. Jaguar said it could sprint to 100km/h in less than seven seconds and reach a top speed of 240km/h
The impossibly long and elegant bonnet, streamlined monocoque design and beautifully pressed panels embodied beautiful form with impressive functionality.
It was just as good to drive as it was to look at. Under the extended hood is a 3.8 liter six-in-line engine. Jaguar said it could sprint to 100 km/h in less than seven seconds and reach a top speed of 240 km/h, which was remarkable at the time. The use of disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and independent front and rear suspension were equally groundbreaking.
The E-Type was produced over three generations of the series until 1974, with a total production of 67,300 cars. These days they are all worth a pretty penny.
Following in the E-Type’s footsteps was never going to be easy, and the XJ-S – which arrived in 1975 – failed to live up to its predecessor’s iconic status
1975 – Jaguar XJ-S
Following in the footsteps of an icon is never easy. Just ask the XJ-S.
Designed by Malcolm Sayer, it was even more aerodynamic than its predecessor, thanks to its flying buttress C-pillars and concave rear window.
In the 1970s, stricter safety regulations were introduced and car design suffered. Not that the XJ-S didn’t continue Jaguar’s history of eye-catching styling, but it never quite matched the flowing lines of the E-Type.
Despite this, Jaguar continued for 21 years with the XJ-S in various guises, ending production in 1996.
The XJ-S debuted with Jaguar’s third all-original engine, featuring a new straight-six 3.6 litre. However, it is the XJR-S 6.0-litre V12 versions that are perhaps most fondly remembered today.
Geoff Lawson, Jaguar’s styling director at the launch of the XK8, received awards for the striking design of the coupe and convertible sports car
1996 -Jaguar XK8
With the return of the XK name, Jaguar changed tactics with its sports cars in the late 1990s.
Just as the XK120 introduced the world to the brand’s first straight six-cylinder engine, the XK8 debuted with a Jaguar V8 engine.
Bosses at the time said the car’s design was inspired by the iconic Jaguars of the past, though it never quite lived up to the bangers of the 1950s and 1960s.
That said, when the XK8 hit showrooms it became the fastest selling sports car in Jaguar’s history. It remained in production until the arrival of the F-Type in 2013, propelling the company into a new era of performance and design that comes to an end this year.