Sir William Lyons Archives

GOMW Jaguar / Sir William Lyons Awards Open

October 23, 2017 Staff Comments Off

The prestigious Jaguar / Guild Of Motoring Writers (GOMW) Sir William Lyons Award is now open for entries, offering aspiring motoring journalists aged 17-23 their first step on the career ladder to becoming a professional writer. After celebrating 50 years of the award in 2016, the 2017 prize will once again be presented at the Royal Automobile Club during the Guild Annual Dinner and Awards. It gives the winner their first chance to network with potential employers and PR colleagues.

1961 Jaguar Mk X owned by Sir William Lyons

William Lyons’ Own Jaguar Up For Auction

July 27, 2016 Staff Comments Off

An incredibly special 1961 Jaguar Mk X owned by Sir William Lyons, founder of Jaguar, will be sold at auction later this year at Silverstone Auctions’ Salon Privé Sale, held at Blenheim Palace on 2nd and 3rd September. Manufactured in December 1961 at the Coventry factory, the car was delivered to Sir William in January 1962 and registered to his Wappenbury Hall address in Warwickshire. Not just any ordinary Jaguar, this Mk X was one of the very first “Zenith” cars produced and made specifically for Lyons to use as his daily driver and finished to his very personal and exact specification. Synonymous with his reputation, Lyons clearly demanded only the very best and the top of the range car houses a 3.8 litre, 6-cylinder engine, which could have whisked him along Warwickshire’s roads at speeds of up to 120 […]

Jaguar Design: A Story of Style – Review

May 26, 2016 Michael Carnell Comments Off

I have mentioned this book a few times before, but I owe it to you to give a more informative review. Jaguar Design: A Story of Style, is as stunning book both in presentation and in content. As billed by publisher Porter Press, this is, essentially, the story of three men — Jaguar company founder and owner Sir William Lyons, aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer and current Design Director Ian Callum — and how they shaped the cars that made Jaguar famous. The line that really struck me, and it actually occurs in Ian Callum’s introduction, is in answer to the question, “Should not form follow function?” To this Callum replied, “Yes, of course, but one of the functions of a Jaguar is to be beautiful.” In a nutshell, that hits at the core of what makes a Jaguar a Jaguar, and what […]