Classic cars

Jaguar – The Social Mirror

by Hagerty
22 February 2019 3 min read
Jaguar – The Social Mirror
Jaguar - the Social Mirror Tim Brown

Our man Skelton thinks that old Jags sum our nation up like nothing else.

Britain is a nation bound by class, whatever egalitarians might wish to think and however much we argue the class system is dead. And for the Margot Leadbetters of this world, little summed up success like a Jaguar on the driveway. While Hyacinth Bucket’s long-suffering husband Richard drove a Rover 200, you know that were Keeping Up Appearances to be made today he’d have an X-Type diesel, with the badges removed so that Mrs Ponsonby from Number 9 would think it was a V6.

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It’s for exactly this reason that the former spiv Arthur Daley had to have a Jag – and indeed, it was written into the original scripts that Arthur’s car would have to be a Jaguar. They were a bit flash, a bit raffish – an ideal way to mark that you had made it.

Jaguars have always represented their era better than anything else. The inter-war confidence embodied by the SS100, the early Fifties sobriety of something like a Mk VII, the Donald Campbell-esque spirit and pluck of XK120s at Jabbeke, these cars speak for their times in a way that most cars simply cannot. Fast forward to the Sixties and you get Kray Twin cool with the MK 2 and S-Type. And remember Austin Powers had an E-Type? What else could a shagadelic Sixties sex icon possibly drive? The svelte, sensuous shape of the E-Type epitomised freedom, hope, and social renaissance – and at half the price of an Aston, many hoped that they might one day afford to buy one.

Fast forward a decade and you get Jason King, Milk Tray man, and scores of other symbols of overt masculinity. And for these, Jaguar had the conspicuously consumptive XJ-S V12. This was a car that at launch may as well have been sold with bonnet hair and a medallion, even if by the end of its life in the ‘90s it had matured into a gentlemanly tourer with an automatic gearbox, walnut trim and a more sedate six-pot option.

The technological age of the 1980s gave us the computerised XJ40, while the 90s resurgence of 60s mores through Cool Britannia brought back the curves of the first XJ6 in the X300.

But there’s more to it than that.

I’m no stranger to an old Jag. I spent much of 2017 smoking about in a tired X300, I’ve had an XJR for 18 months, and right now I’m enjoying a Series III Sovereign courtesy of Kelsey Publishing. And there’s always something special about the experience – it’s funny, because you don’t quite get the same sense of amusement from a nice example. Jaguars should always be a little tired if they’re to have the right effect.

I think a tired Jag speaks for the English condition like little else ever could. And the reasoning is simple; it’s the class system. Specifically, the peculiarly British desire not only to keep up with the Joneses, but to try to beat the system. We don’t just want to keep up, we want to show old Jonesy who’s boss. When a Jaguar falls from grace, it ends its days as a cheap smoker bought instead of a second-hand Ford. And while its bushes may long since have perished and the bottom end might have developed a dodgy knock, it’s still a far more relaxing alternative than the moon-mileage Mondeo or average Avensis – the magic and the mystique of the marque are still there in spades even if it might be a shadow of its former self. No other marque really does this – except perhaps Bentley, and I shan’t be going there again for some time. And by the time it reaches the sub-£1500 level, a Jaguar is a truly classless proposition as well as a symbol of our aspiration. After all, if the man next door can afford to own a Jaguar, why can’t you? And why shouldn’t you?

What’s your favourite Jaguar? Tell us below!

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Comments

  • Kent says:

    XK8 and x-type Sovereign

  • West Midlands says:

    My current Jaguar is an XK Coupe from 2008 I have owned an S Type (2004) XF (2009) and a Daimler 250 V8 I liked them all but favourite Jag should be Dream Jaguar so that is a C Type Less dream like and increasingly less affordable has to be a Series 1 E Type or a Coombs Mk 2 3.8 MOD

  • salisbury says:

    A well written article and you’ve captured the spirit and essence of the marque very well. My dad had a series 1 XJ6 in the mid 1970’s in a rather questionable brown colour and although it was the sluggish 2.8 litre variant, it was still a car with tremendous door-step presence and I recall sliding around on the rear bench seat whenever he went round corners with its hugely over-assisted power steering. Happy Days!

  • Suffolk says:

    A very interesting article and so true. Currently have a 1996 XJ6 and 2001 XKR which attend a lot of JDC events. The XJ6 is a lovely car to drive and embodies the sentiments expressed in the article.

  • Cambs says:

    My favourite’s my XK140DHC SE – at least it will be once I get both halves of the body back together and remounted on the chassis. It’ll be done by Christmas.* *Year unspecified

  • Marseille, France says:

    My favourite’s, my Jaguar XJ6 4.2l 1970

  • Hastings, East Sussex says:

    I’ve been lusting after an F type ever since I see it in 2013…… sadly still out of my price range but a man can dream can’t he?

  • Glendale says:

    My favorite Jag of all time has to be the XK Coupe. i own a silver 2010 portfolio edition. It’s been my dream car for a very long time. The F type which replaced the XK ,and im very disappointed about that. Jaguar still should have continued production for that model. I’ve read too many bad reviews about the f type and definitely makes me not want to purchase one.

  • Bournemouth says:

    Have a xk 5l convertible , but my favourite is the mk 2 never owned would loved to have had one

  • Corby says:

    Beautifully written article, and an exemplary explanation of the older Jags. I’ve been fortunate to own an S-Type and currently own the fabulous XFS, which is an incredible creation. I would love to own the ultimate Jaguar, possibly other than the legendary E-Type, in the F-Type. It literally sends a shiver down my spine when I see one! That’s the beauty of Jaguar.

  • Hinckley says:

    My car is a 2012 Jaguar 2.2 XF in grey with black trim and I just love it

  • Buckingham says:

    2016 F Type S….6 speed manual…drove car from San Francisco to Philadelphia after retirement in 2017. Most memorable 4 days…car is daily driver and stoll behaves as if off showroom floor.

  • Ml110hu says:

    Mk1 XJ6

  • Andrew Lawson says:

    1988 Daimler vanden plas, 76500 miles, 3.6 that can leave new cars behind on acceleration from lights, best car I’ve bought and won’t part with it.
    Pace, comfort and a pleasure to drive, it’s not for posing, the enjoyment and typical Jaguar engineering.

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