Sir William Lyons on Jaguar
The Legend Explained In his Own Words
Compiled by Giles Chapman
2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the passing of Jaguar scion Sir William Lyons (1901–1985) and coincidentally is the 90th anniversary of the appearance of the first car bearing the name Jaguar. Thus it seemed just the right time to release this unusual book for, as the opening quote indicates, it is not in any sense another marque history. Rather, it has as its origin a speech Sir William Lyons delivered before the Institute of the Motor Industry April 1969 gathered in Westminster.
Sir William Lyons with a figurine of the graceful creature, the marque’s namesake.
The transcript of the speech was rediscovered not long ago and forms the heart of the book, reproduced verbatim. What is perhaps most remarkable is that in the opinion of Michael Quinn, Lyons’ grandson, his grandfather actually personally wrote this speech rather than using one written by Jaguar’s PR staff. Quinn expresses this belief in his Foreword in which he writes, “there is detail in this paper that tells me these are my grandfather’s personal reflections, and could not have been written by someone else.”
Illustrations from early XK 120 sales material.
That contention is further supported by the journalist who is credited as the book’s compiler, Giles Chapman. His views are presented on just over a half-dozen pages that following the text of Sir William’s presentation. Chapman notes some points Lyons felt no need to make in his talk that a third party would have included while also noting that Lyons “devotes a surprising amount of detail [to] . . . the Fleetline bus and the Big J lorries . . . as well as [the] large industrial complex, making all kinds of unexpected things – or, at least, that’s what you discover if you’ve only associated this man with cars.”
It’s not just the content of the book that’s unusual. So too is its presentation from the approach to page design ranging from porthole-shaped images to full page and even some double truck beauty shots. Then there’s the lack of a Table of Contents. It’s not really needed and therefore not missed, and there is an Index.
On left is John Egan, at the time chairman and chief executive of Jaguar Cars Ltd, standing alongside the by then retired Sir William.
Sir William titled his speech—and thus spoke about—“The History of Jaguar and The Future of the Specialised Car in the British Motor Industry.” Being able to read Sir William’s own perceptions of the company he founded and guided for the first half-century of its existence is particularly compelling. He talks about the cars from that first long ago motorcycle Swallow sidecar leading to the Swallow-bodied and -named motorcars, then the XKs, the E-Types, the Marks along with telling of the times in which they were created and produced.
An E-Type roadster beauty shot.
At one point Sir William expounds on the responsibility of a specialist car maker with “He must offer qualities which just cannot be provided by the giants. The car must possess very high standards of refinement, silence, handling and comfort to give its owner that indefinable sense of satisfaction.”
Chapman’s concluding “Commentary” section also briefly reviews the marque’s roller-coaster existence and ownership changes of more recent years. Then looking forward from current times, he notes hopefully “As this book goes to press, then, the future shape of Jaguar is hugely anticipated.”
Copyright 2025 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)
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