Nick Dimbleby
Top The Jaguar XJ75 Concept, showing at Pebble Beach today. Above Jaguar celebrates the 75th anniversary of its name. Starting with the front, then going right to left: the famous Appleyard Jaguar XK120, registration NUB 120, of 1949; 1951 Jaguar C-type; 1954 Jaguar D-type; 1961 Jaguar Lightweight E-type; the Jaguar Mark 2 saloon; 2010 Jaguar XFR.
Jaguar’s beautiful XJ saloon will appear at the Pebble Beach concours d’élégance today, where it should feel right at home.
But the white XJ that’s on show on the Concept Car Lawn is a bit flasher than the regular model: it’s a customized XJ75 concept designed to showcase the Jaguar brand’s 75 Years of Looking Forward celebrations.
Every exterior part that is chrome on a regular XJ is in black on the XJ75, including the leaper, while the vehicle sits on 22-inch tyres. Ian Callum, Jaguar’s director of design, says it’s the sort of car he would be proud to drive home himself.
Jaguar was founded by William Lyons in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company. In 1935, the first SS appeared with the Jaguar name. After World War II, with the initials SS having gained infamy, the company formally renamed itself to Jaguar Cars Ltd.