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J A G U A R

the dedication of Jaguar’s workforce that production resumed within only a few days. Growth forced another move in 1960 which resulted in the outright purchase of Daimler Car Company Limited, giving Jaguar another major factory within a couple of miles and a total workforce of over 8,000 workers. Purchases of truck manufacturer Guy Motors Limited of Wolverhampton followed in 1961, and race–engine/forklift truck–maker Coventry–Climax in 1963. By the end of 1959 a new compact saloon, the Mark II, had been introduced, and during the 1960s it became the most popular Jaguar saloon ever, with over 92,000 produced, until the XJ series was introduced. But the car most representative of Jaguar’s heritage was the E–type sports car (also known as the XK–E), produced between 1962 and 1975. Its mystique and influence has probably never been equaled by any other production automobile. The 1960s and 1970s saw the company continue to develop several genera- tions of what were now known as XJ saloons in the face of economic pressures affecting the entire British automotive industry. Lyons merged Jaguar with British Motor Corporation in July 1966 to form a new conglomerate called British Motor Holdings (BMH) Limited; by 1968 he resigned as the group’s managing director. BMH merged with the Leyland Group that May to form British Leyland.

A front–on view of the Mark II cat on the prowl. The grill–flanking foglamps were a distinctive feature.

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