William Lyons
1901–1985
Sir William Lyons
Co-founder of Jaguar · Managing director and chairman
British co-founder of the Swallow Sidecar Company, which became Jaguar; he led it for fifty years, from sidecars to the XK120 and XJ6.
- Born
- 4 September 1901Blackpool, England
- Died
- 8 February 1985Wappenbury Hall, Warwickshire, England
- Nationality
- British
Biography
William Lyons was born in Blackpool on 4 September 1901. After leaving Crossley Motors he sold cars for a Sunbeam dealer in Blackpool, and in 1922 he founded the Swallow Sidecar Company with William Walmsley. In 1928 he moved the business, and his family, to Coventry.
The company was renamed SS Cars Ltd. in 1933; Walmsley left in 1934, and in 1935 the first model carrying the Jaguar name was offered. After the Second World War the company itself took the Jaguar name. The XK engine was completed in 1948 and launched in a sports car that went into full production as the XK120. Lyons was knighted in 1956 for services to British industry and exports.
In 1966 he merged Jaguar with the British Motor Corporation to form British Motor Holdings, which was later absorbed into British Leyland. He retired as managing director in 1967 but stayed on as chairman, and called the 1968 XJ6 his last and proudest achievement. He retired completely in 1972 and died at Wappenbury Hall on 8 February 1985.
Timeline
Cars
Jaguar XK120
Jaguar E-Type
Jaguar XJWilliam Lyons in 1CARS stories
- Austin — Herbert Austin's Longbridge Car Maker, 1905–1988
- SS Jaguar 100 — the Sports Car That Made the Jaguar Name
- Austin 7 — the Baby Austin That Motorised Britain
- Swallow Sidecars and SS Cars: How Jaguar Began, 1922–1945
- The History of Jaguar: Sidecars, Le Mans and an Electric Restart
- Jaguar XK120: The Sports Car That Launched the XK Engine
- Jaguar XJ: Five Decades of Jaguar's Flagship Saloon
Related people
Sources
- William Lyons — Wikipedia · accessed 13 October 2026