2009 Jaguar XK S

Jaguar is a luxury-car manufacturer that marries comfort, style, and speed in both sedan and sports car form. It was founded in the United Kingdom by William Lyons in 1922; the company originally produced aluminum motorcycle sidecars. The first true Jaguar, the SS1, was launched in 1931, and the Jaguar name was given to the car in 1935. The XK120 was released in 1948 and offered high horsepower and high speed. It was the precursor to Jaguar’s involvement in racing. During the 1950s, the company enjoyed five victories at Le Mans, in part due a competitive advantage--the company was one of the first to use disc brakes on the race track.

Jaguar introduced the Mark VII sedan in the United States in the 1950s, and its success prompted the similarly elegant Mark VIII and Mark IX. The subsequent XJ6 and XJ12 sedans have become known for their traditional English approach to luxury. In 1961, Jaguar brought to the U.S. the smooth, high-performance E-Type sports car, which was replaced in the 1970s with the less sporting but similarly powerful XJ-S luxury coupe. Two Le Mans victories, in 1988 and 1990, reinforced Jaguar’s performance reputation.

In 1990, Ford bought Jaguar and folded it into Ford’s Premier Automotive Group. Ford’s resources helped Jaguar expand its production and product line. The result was the debut of the XK8 and XKR sports coupes and convertibles in 1997. The company tried to offer a more economical, entry level sedan with the X-Type in 2002, but the vehicle, based on a modified Ford platform, did not fare well in the U.S. With the 2003 XJ, Jaguar became the first manufacturer to produce a vehicle with an aluminum unibody construction--a structure still used by today’s XJ sedans.

Ford’s poor financial performance, combined with weakened sales at Jaguar, prompted Ford to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian manufacturer Tata in 2008. Jaguar sold approximately 14,960 cars in 2008 and hopes to build on that number in 2009 with its three models. The XF model is the entry-level luxury car, the XJ8 is the flagship of the XJ luxury car series, and the XK offers sports-car speed and style.