The five masterpieces of Jaguar’s Malcolm Sayer

Posted on 08-04-2015 at 23:00 by Dizono – 32 Comments”

Malcolm who? Most likely you’ve never seen this Brit heard, but he has the basis of some of the most beautiful cars in the world.

Sayer is, in 1916, was born in Norfolk and goes on his seventeenth car and vliegtuigtechniek study. During the Second world War he worked as a vliegtuigontwerper for the Bristol Aeroplane Company. There is Sayer into account the basic principles of aerodynamics. After the war there is suddenly a lot less demand for aircraft and, therefore, also less work. While Bristol after the war cars are going to build, moving Malcolm Sayer with wife and daughter to Iraq to get there at the University of Baghdad to go to work. Once there, it appears that university not exist at all, instead, maintains Sayer the fleet cars of the government.

After two years, Sayer had in Iraq and he returned to England to be there for Jaguar to go to work. There is that moment, among others, the Jaguar XK120 screwed together. A gorgeous sports car with smooth shapes, but really aerodynamically the design is not: there is no logic or mathematical theory have been used to. It looks fast, it is fast, that’s the idea.

That changes when Sayer on the raceafdeling of the brand comes to work. He introduced the slide rule and math tables on the department and develops its own formula to calculate how the curvature of lines is optimal. A lot of calculations that today’s computers is carried out.

Jaguar C-Type

The first result is the Jaguar C-Type, on the basis of the XK120-technique. The car hardly resembles the vehicle on which it is based, but proved to be highly successful. In 1951, wins the C-Type at his first participation right, the 24 hours of Le Mans, a piece of art that in 1953, is repeated.

Jaguar D-Type

In 1954, shows the competition for Jaguar, too fast, and needs to Sayer start to draw to a successor to the C-Type. The result is according to many one of the most beautiful racing cars ever made: the D-Type. Everything about the history and successes of the D-Type and its predecessor, you’ll check in this longread.

Jaguar E-Type

The climax of the career of Sayer is undoubtedly the Jaguar E-Type from 1961, with great regularity, the most beautiful car ever. In 1957, begins the test with the E1A, a car that in terms of design, seamlessly between the D-Type and the later E-Type fits. The most beautiful version of the E-Type, Series I, Series II and especially III do with their abundance of chrome, and in the case of the coupe rare 2+2-roof the original design not honor.

Jaguar XJ13

Although Jaguar E-Type commercial point of view, the necessary successes achieved, it was on the circuits pretty quiet around it in the ’50s, so highly revered brand. With the XJ13 had to change in the future. Like almost all racing cars from that time the engine is no longer in the cabin, but was it behind the driver posted. In contrast to the C – and D-Type had the XJ13 5 litre V12 developed with use in street-legal car in the back of my mind. By the time the prototype in 1966, and was finished, Ford was all its 7-litre GT40 ready and was the XJ13 outgunned considered. In 1971, the substance of the now 5-year-old prototype blown for a promotional video for the introduction of the E-Type V12. Unfortunately, crashes the car hard by an exploding tire. Fortunately, the wreck years later, restored and is now on display at the Heritage Motor Centre Museum in Gaydon.

Jaguar XJ-S

As in 1975, finally the E-Type is about to be relieved by his successor, the expectations are obviously high. The general public is then somewhat disappointed when the cloth of the somewhat strange XJ-S is pulled out. The graceful and fluid of the E-Type is there already, though it appears the model is particularly sustainable. Only in 1996, 21 years after its launch, rolls out the latest Jaguar XJS (at that time without indent) of the band. Malcolm Sayer has it all not anymore, he died in 1970, at only 53 years of age to the effects of a heart attack. The design of the XJ-S is not fully on account of Sayer, though he is indeed the first and decisive lines for the XJ-S put down on paper.