Chapter 0: WTF JLR!?
Gerry McGovern, design chief of Jaguar Land Rover, was fired from the company just yesterday (as of writing).
The reason has not officially been stated; but I have a feeling JLR are headed in the wrong direction for it. Welcome to my essay on…
The History Of JAAAAAAG
Chapter 1: Swallow Sidecar (and Coachbuilding) Company
The first vehicle ever made by “Jaguar” was the Model Number 01 Swallow Sidecar. It was started by the best friends William Walmsley and William Lyons. The partnership had begun in 1922. Very soon after this in 1927; they “made” their first car: The Austin Seven Swallow Two Seater.
They also changed their name from Swallow Sidecars to SS Coachbuilding; who would (for obvious reasons pertaining to WWII) be renamed to: Jaguar Cars Limited.
They made two cars as SS Coachbuilding; the SS1. Their next car was the SS Jaguar; which would soon become the name of the entire company. These cars were known for being affordable luxury. (Remember this.)
Chapter 2: Cat’s Outta The Bag
The first vehicles ever made by Jaguar were the Mark IV and Mark V. Mark IV was sold as the 1 ½, 2 ½ and 3 ½ litre designs; the Mark IV name was only added retroactively in preparation for the Mark V, which would have the option for either of the later engines the Mark IV had.
Their first sports car as Jaguar was the XK120, a revolutionary design among post-WWII cars. Its engine would later be placed into their successor to the Mark V, the Mark… VII?
Yeah, so there was already a BENTLEY Mk VI. Jaguar, in turn, named their next luxury car the Mark VII. It came out in 1950 and would, for me at least, mark the beginning of Jaguar’s first renaissance.
Marks VIII and IX were revamps of VII, from what I understand; but their first car to bring Jaguar into the 60s was the gargantuan Mark X!
Chapter 3: The Top Cat
The 1960s in general were the era where Jaguar would, in my opinion, become the car of men who wear smoking jackets and suede loafer shoes; smoke cigars like Winston Churchill and more often than not are mistaken for master criminals. Because the Mark X, later the 420G, is affordable sport luxury at its finest; even being made into the famous Daimler Limousine, itself still in use by politicians and British royalty alike! But you’re not excited about Jaguar in the 60s because of the Mark X… No… you’re here for… The E-Type.
So praised by Enzo Ferrari himself; the E-Type was well deserving of his attention and would be the standout star among the likes of the Toyota 2000GT and even Enzo’s own Ferrari 250!
This is the part where now I’m going to, unfortunately, skip the likes of the legendary XJ220 and head straight to…
Chapter 4: Cool Cat Saves The Car Company
The 21st century was a mixed bag for Jaguar; the XJ was a success, the XK was a success, the F-Type was a success, the F-Pace was… a Jaguar and the X-Type was… also a Jaguar. But in 2024, the company would suddenly gain the spotlight for what I consider a VERY GOOD MOVE!!! Remember above when I listed those things I would associate with the Jaguar Mark X? That was not something Jaguar was unaware of at the time; even playing into the joke in the 2010s and releasing an Advertisement that bragged about Jaguar being the choice luxury brand of British movie villains and having their premiere CX-75 concept car being driven by the villain in the James Bond movie; Spectre!
But therein lies the keyword of my main problem with Jaguar firing their design lead: “Villain”.
Jaguar was the preferred car of villains.
Which is why I think the Type-00 and Jaguar’s rebrand is brilliant!
Chapter 5: Obituary
We are now in December 2025, and all is seemingly well: Jaguar has announced their rebrand a year ago now and the Type-00 isn’t meant for production; because it’s a concept car. Suddenly, at the very beginning of December; JLR fired Gerry McGovern and; according to one article I found while looking into this, DID NOT COMMENT on the circumstances behind this.
It should be noted that of the outcries against the Jaguar Rebrand; two of them were American Dictator Donald Trump and NOT Prime Minister Nigel Farage. Neither of them buy Jaguars. And they still complained. If my assumption is correct and JLR fired Gerry because of this conservative backlash, then Jaguar will ACTUALLY have the WORST rebrand in history. Because in a world where Trump thinks he can command OTHER COUNTRIES just because he’s the POTUS and doesn’t like what they’re doing; Jaguar NEEDED this rebrand. The world is FILLED with conservatives trying to flex their muscles against non-issues and if a company like Jaguar could start to show they don’t sell their cars to villains anymore; then they would win favour with MANY progressives.
I almost can’t emphasise enough how much Jaguar means to me. The only car my best friend cares about in enough capacity to remember the name of is the Jaguar E-Type; the luxury car I could afford the easiest is a Jaguar. The only car company Enzo Ferrari didn’t aggravate was Jaguar. I EVEN CHOSE MY FIRST DRIVING SHOES BASED ON THE ARCHETYPAL JAGUAR DRIVER!!!
In closing: I want JLR to reconsider their stance on the rebrand. Otherwise they’ve lost another potential customer.
Records of an Aspie 