It seems a bit of an odd argument when you consider that the later s-type had a Ford floorpan (shared wth a Lincoln), Ford running gear, brakes and much more all encompassed in a skin whose design was lifted from a car from 40 years previously. I have always thought of both the S-type and X-type were more Jaguar tribute cars rather than real Jags.

It's all irrelevant of course. This is the Austin Swallow, where car development began for William Lyons and Swallow Sidecars. So if your car does not have a steering wheel the size of a dustbin lid, or a brass holder screwed to the dashboard for a posy of flowers (cool or what?), the you are not i possession of a real Jag. Shame on us all.

 

>They think theirs is the last of the true Jaguars.

Na, it's actually the XJ guys who think they have last of the true Jaguars. They claim that the pre-X351s were essentially pre-Ford designs...
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You dreamed of a big star -
He played a mean guitar -
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

So welcome to the machine

 

There are things in the life cycle of people and objects called eras. The key to being happy is not getting stuck in any of them, but adapting to what the new one is. You can still have a favorite, but you can't live like it's that era without serious shortcomings in your life.

The funny part about Jaguars is that for a long stretch of time they "looked" like "proper Jaguars", but they had a lot of things going on beneath the sheet metal that were undesirable. No one complained about them being eradicated by Ford and it was a really good move for the brand.

I put proper Jaguars in parenthesis because all those who are clinging to the pre X351 XJ's (and the look loaned to the S-Type and X-type) need to remember Jaguars didn't look like that from the beginning. They evolved from big, tall, Rolls Royce type cars. Hell, they didn't even have the paired headlights! And an E-Type looks like nothing before it and little since. So we should have dismissed one on the most evocative and emotion stirring designs of the automotive world because it didn't fit in the mould of what an XK 120 was?

Ladies and gentlemen, progress is coming. You can either board the train or get left behind! I do admire those who keep the older models on the road because they love them. I wont lie, I do love seeing them as well. I just don't want my daily driver to still look and behave like a British Leyland/Lucas Electrics era Jaguar. And I doubt many of you do either.

 

Apologies for being pedantic, but the E-Type was the natural styling evolution of the C and D types which predated the E. So it wasn't really a singular design.

 

>It seems a bit of an odd argument when you consider that the later s-type had a Ford floorpan (shared wth a Lincoln), Ford running gear, brakes and much more all encompassed in a skin whose design was lifted from a car from 40 years previously. I have always thought of both the S-type and X-type were more Jaguar tribute cars rather than real Jags.

Sorry, but gotta clarify things just a bit, while not speaking to the X-Type (although I owned one and they really were very nice, especially the station wagons), the S-Type was a completely Jaguar design that Ford just decided to use in other cars. Everything was Jaguar designed, Ford just provided the funding to create, reliably test (a noted failure of pre-Ford Jaguars), and support.

Ford used a version of the AJ engine (but without variable valves) but independently created and assembled it. A Ford transmission was originally used but was changed for a ZF after only a couple of years.

What Ford did was provide the necessary product development capital that Jaguar never had. They had the resources to afford the costs of designing a supporting well-made cars, again something Jaguar was not capable of doing. Without Ford, Jaguar would no longer exist.

I think that is something that is important to understand because even XE owners will be challenged by the accusations of not owning a "real Jaguar" (hey aren't those cars made in India, they can't be REAL Jaguars, then...).

Not being a real Jaguar is an easy slur to make but the truth is very different.

Now, if only you guys had real motor... ;-)
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)
Past Ours: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green

 

I am not completely classic Jaguar fluent, so I had to look up the C and D types to refresh my memory. After looking at a number of pages of Google images, I can't completely agree from just the look of the body. I don't know enough to challenge the underpinnings part of your statement, but the body of either the C or D does not draw the immediate conclusion that the E was coming next.

If you truly believe that, consider then the E type could have sprung from the 1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Spider. Obscure reference for sure but that Ferrari and the D type are more similar than the E type. I'd add photos but on the mobile app.

 

Sure, but look at the lines, from the XF-140 to the C-Type, to the D-Type to the E-Type. Clearly they were following a progressive design theme.

The DOHC 6 engines were also established by the time of the XK-140


XK-140



C-Type



D-Type



E-Type

==================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)
Past Ours: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green