Classic Jaguar: the cars, the history, and what they are like to own

By British Classic Cars Last reviewed June 3, 2026

No British marque carries the weight that Jaguar does. For most of the twentieth century it sold cars that looked and felt like they cost twice the money, a trick William Lyons pulled off again and again, from the pre-war SS sports cars to the E-Type and the XJ saloon. Jaguar built grand tourers that won Le Mans, compact saloons that outran sports cars, and one roadster so admired it became shorthand for the whole decade it was born in.

This is the guide to the classic Jaguars worth knowing: where the marque came from, the models that defined it, and what each one is like to own and run now.

A red Jaguar E-Type roadster being driven along a sunny tree-lined road, front three-quarter view — The E-Type, the car most people picture when they hear the word Jaguar: beauty and speed at a price that undercut the exotics.

William Lyons and the art of value for money

Jaguar began a long way from luxury. In 1922 William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the Swallow Sidecar Company in Blackpool, building coach-built motorcycle sidecars. The partnership was formalised on Lyons’ twenty-first birthday, the age he needed to reach to sign for the bank. From 1927 the firm moved into car bodywork, most famously a re-bodied Austin Seven, and in 1928 it moved to Coventry, the centre of the British motor industry.

The first cars to carry the company’s own design were the SS models of the early 1930s, and in 1935 the firm gave one of them a name that would outlast everything else: Jaguar. The company itself was still called SS Cars at that point. After the Second World War the SS initials carried an obvious and unwelcome association, and in 1945 the shareholders approved renaming the business Jaguar Cars. From 1951 the company built its cars at Browns Lane in Coventry, the plant that would produce every Jaguar in this guide.

Running through all of it was Lyons himself, a proprietor who styled his cars by eye, judging full-size mock-ups rather than working as a trained engineer. His instinct was for a particular kind of value: a Jaguar should undercut more expensive rivals on price while matching them on luxury and pace. That promise, made visible in car after car, is the thread that ties the whole marque together.

A silver Jaguar XK120 roadster parked by a stone wall, front three-quarter view — The XK120 of 1948, the car that launched the XK engine and made Jaguar's name for fast, beautiful, affordable machines.

Grace, space, pace: the saloons

Jaguar’s saloons were never ordinary. The Mk2 of 1959 was a compact sports saloon that, in 3.8-litre form, would see off most sports cars of its day, and it became the definitive 1960s Jaguar: wood and leather inside, the leaping cat on the bonnet, and a turn of speed that made it a favourite of both the police and the criminals they chased.

The car that replaced Jaguar’s entire saloon range was the XJ6 of 1968, the last car designed under Sir William Lyons. It swept away the Mk2, the S-Type and the big saloons in one move, and the period press struggled to find anything that drove better at any price. With the smooth 5.3-litre V12 of the XJ12, it became the quiet, fast, deeply comfortable car that defined what a Jaguar saloon should be for a generation. “Grace, space, pace”, the old advertising line, fitted it exactly.

A dark red Jaguar Mk2 3.8 saloon at a classic car show, front three-quarter view — The Mk2 3.8, a compact saloon that could embarrass sports cars and came to define the 1960s Jaguar.Photo by grobertson4 / CC BY 2.0

The sports cars

The sports cars are where the legend is loudest. The XK120 of 1948 was meant to be a low-volume showcase for Jaguar’s new twin-cam XK engine, and instead it stopped the Earls Court show, billed as the fastest production car in the world. That XK straight-six went on to power Jaguars for more than forty years, and the XK120 grew into the XK140 and XK150 before giving way to the car that crowned the line.

The E-Type of 1961 is the one everybody knows. Long, low and impossibly graceful, it was fast, relatively affordable for its performance, and so striking that its looks have arguably never been bettered. It ran from the covered-headlamp Series 1 through to the V12 Series 3, and it remains the car most people picture when they hear the word Jaguar.

A gunmetal grey Jaguar E-Type fixed-head coupe in front of a country house, side view — The E-Type fixed-head coupe. From the XK120 to the E-Type, Jaguar's sports cars set the look of their decades.

The grand tourer

When the E-Type ended in 1974, its replacement was a different sort of car. The XJS of 1975 was a luxury grand tourer rather than a sports car, and its long, controversial shape divided opinion at launch. It went on to outsell the E-Type and to run for more than twenty years, and time has been kind to it. A good XJS, particularly a V12 convertible, is now a sought-after classic in its own right, and the cheapest way into a genuine Jaguar grand tourer.

A black Jaguar XJS convertible driving past a red-brick mansion block on a London street — The XJS, the long-running grand tourer that followed the E-Type and is now a sought-after classic in its own right.

Jaguar at Le Mans

Jaguar’s competition record gave the road cars their credibility. The C-Type won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1951 and again in 1953, the second time as the first car to win the race with disc brakes and the first to average over 100 mph for the distance. The D-Type then won three years running, in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Closer to home, the tuned Mk2 saloons prepared by John Coombs dominated touring-car racing at the turn of the 1960s. The pattern was always the same: Jaguar raced on Sunday and sold the glamour on Monday.

A black Jaguar D-Type racing car, number 170, at speed on a circuit — A Jaguar D-Type. The C-Type and D-Type won Le Mans five times in the 1950s and gave the road cars their credibility.

Buying and owning a classic Jaguar

The good news is that classic Jaguars are exceptionally well supported. The specialist trade for these cars is one of the strongest in the British classic-car world, and almost everything is available, from a full E-Type bodyshell to the smallest piece of trim. The XK six is tough and the V12 is durable when it is looked after.

The catch, on every one of these cars, is rust. Jaguars of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s corrode in the sills, floors, valances, wheelarches and the structural areas around the suspension mounts, and a clean shell matters far more than a low mileage. The other thing to weigh is the V12: wonderful to drive, but complex, thirsty and unforgiving of neglect, so a cheap one can be the most expensive car you ever buy. Much of the rest of the job is the ordinary business of owning and running a classic car, and most of these models are now old enough to qualify for historic vehicle status, with the tax and MOT exemptions that brings.

A dark green Jaguar XJ6 Series 1 saloon with chrome bumpers, front three-quarter view — The XJ6, Sir William Lyons' last saloon. A well-kept six-cylinder car is among the most usable ways into classic Jaguar ownership.Photo by SG2012 / CC BY 2.0

Sources and further reading

Model histories, production figures and values on the pages above draw on the marque’s own heritage records, the period road tests and the auction record; each model page sets out its figures in detail. For the regulatory side, the rules on historic vehicle tax exemption come from gov.uk.

More photos

An XK120 fixed-head coupe, the closed version of Jaguar's first post-war sports car.

The interior of a Jaguar E-Type with a wood-rimmed steering wheel and round gauges — Wood, leather and a bank of toggle switches: the cabin of an E-Type, and the kind of detail that defines the marque.

A green Jaguar C-Type racing car, number 102, at a hill-climb with Union Jack bunting and a crowd — A Jaguar C-Type, the car that took the marque's first two Le Mans wins in 1951 and 1953 and pioneered disc brakes in racing.

Explore this topic

Jaguar E-Type: The Jaguar E-Type was the most beautiful car of its age and one of the fastest, and it ran from the covered-headlamp Series 1 to the V12 Series 3 across fourteen years. The development story, the differences between the series, the myths sorted from the facts, and what the survivors are like to buy now.
E-Type Series 1: The Series 1 is the original E-Type and the one collectors prize most, defined by its glass-covered headlamps and slim chrome bumpers. The 3.8 and 4.2 cars, the early flat-floor and outside-bonnet-lock collectables, the Series 1.5, and what to look for when buying one.
E-Type Series 2: The Series 2 answered American safety and emissions rules with open headlamps, a bigger grille and wraparound bumpers, and in doing so became the best-developed and most usable of the six-cylinder E-Types. What changed, the American power question, and what to look for when buying one.
E-Type Series 3: The Series 3 swapped the XK six for Jaguar's new 5.3-litre V12, sat on the longer 2+2 wheelbase and came only as a roadster or 2+2 coupe. The most relaxed and the smoothest E-Type, the truth about its performance, the run-out commemorative cars, and what to look for when buying one.
Jaguar XJ6: The XJ6 of 1968 replaced Jaguar's entire saloon range with one car, and the period press could not find anything that drove better at any price. The three series, the smooth XK six and the V12, the Daimler siblings, and what to look for when buying the last Jaguar saloon designed under William Lyons.
Jaguar XJS: The XJS was never meant to be an E-Type, and the long, controversial grand tourer divided opinion at launch before time turned it into a sought-after classic. The V12 and the six, the cabriolet and the convertible, the TWR racing cars, and what to look for when buying one now.
Jaguar XK120: The XK120 was meant to be a low-volume showcase for Jaguar's new twin-cam engine and became a sensation, billed as the fastest production car in the world. The Jabbeke speed runs, the aluminium and steel cars, the body styles and the famous XK engine, and what to look for when buying one.
Jaguar Mk2: The Mk2 was the compact sports saloon that, in 3.8 form, would see off most sports cars of its day, and it became the definitive 1960s Jaguar, beloved of bank managers, getaway drivers and saloon racers alike. The engines, the Coombs racers, the run-out cars, and what to look for when buying one.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best classic Jaguar to buy?

It depends on what you want from it. The E-Type is the icon and the one the market values most, but it is expensive to buy and to restore. For a usable classic that still feels every inch a Jaguar, the Series 3 XJ6 and the six-cylinder XJS are the value picks, cheaper to buy than their reputation suggests and far cheaper to run than the V12 versions. The Mk2 sits between the two, a genuine 1960s sports saloon with real charm. Buy the best body you can find in every case, because rust, not mechanical wear, is what makes or breaks a classic Jaguar.

Are classic Jaguars expensive to maintain?

The six-cylinder cars need not be. The XK twin-cam straight-six that powered Jaguars from 1949 to 1992 is a tough, well-understood engine with excellent parts support, and a well-kept six-cylinder Mk2, XJ6 or XJS is no more demanding than any classic of its age. The V12 is the one to think hard about. It is smooth and durable when maintained, but it is complex and thirsty, and a neglected one can cost far more to put right than the car is worth. The other constant is rust, which is the real running cost on any of these cars.

What was the first Jaguar?

The company began as the Swallow Sidecar Company in Blackpool in 1922, building motorcycle sidecars, and moved into car bodywork later in the decade. The Jaguar name first appeared in 1935, on the SS Jaguar saloon and the SS 100 sports car, while the firm was still called SS Cars. The company was renamed Jaguar Cars in 1945, after the war made the SS initials unwelcome.

When does a classic Jaguar become a historic vehicle?

The rolling 40-year rule applies to Jaguars as to any other car in Britain. A vehicle built more than 40 years ago becomes eligible for historic vehicle status, which brings exemption from road tax and, on an unmodified car, from the annual MOT. That already covers every E-Type, XK120, Mk2 and the early XJ6 and XJS. The later XJS cars cross the line in turn through the 2020s and 2030s.

Tagged:Jaguar E-Type XJ6 XJS XK120 British Classics Editorial