• Log In
  • Become A Subscriber
  • News
  • Features
    • Special Features
    • Moss Special
    • Photography
    • Featured Editorials
    • Racecar Features
    • Roadcar Features
  • Race
    • Racecar Mag.
      • News
      • Features
      • Profile
      • Interview
      • Racecar Gallery
    • Columns
      • First Turn
      • Fast Lines
      • Fabulous Fifties
      • Heroes
      • Legends Speak
      • Stirling Speaks
      • Greatest Racecars
      • Last Lap
    • Profiles
      • Grand Prix History
      • Can-Am Racing
      • Grand Prix Cars
      • Mille Miglia
      • Race Profiles
      • Racecar Profiles
      • Driver Profiles
    • More
      • Art History
      • Fast Exposure
      • Hidden Treasure
      • Hot Laps
      • Time Capsule
      • Market Guide
      • The Golden Age
      • Hard Drive
  • Road
    • Roadcar Mag.
      • News
      • Features
      • Profile
      • Interview
    • Columns
      • From The Editor
      • By Design
      • Driven
      • Flashback
      • Roadcar Gallery
      • Roadcar Video
    • More
      • Roadcar Articles
      • Roadcar Features
      • Roadcar Interviews
      • Roadcar News
      • Roadcar Profiles
  • Brands
    • A to C
      • Alfa Romeo
      • Alpine
      • Auburn
      • Audi
      • Austin
      • Aston Martin
      • Bentley
      • BMW
      • Bugatti
      • Buick
      • Cadillac
      • Chevrolet
      • Chrysler
    • D to L
      • Dodge
      • Duesenberg
      • Ferrari
      • Fiat
      • Ford
      • Hispano Suiza
      • Honda
      • Koenigsegg
      • Jaguar
      • Lagonda
      • Lamborghini
      • Lancia
      • Lexus
      • Lincoln
      • Lola
      • Lotus
    • K to R
      • Maserati
      • Mazda
      • McLaren
      • Mercedes
      • MG
      • Mini
      • Mitsubishi
      • Morgan
      • Nissan
      • Packard
      • Pagani
      • Porsche
      • Renault
      • Rimac
      • Rolls-Royce
    • S to Z
      • SCG
      • Shelby
      • Spyker
      • Subaru
      • Sunbeam
      • Toyota
      • Triumph
      • Vauxhall
      • Volkswagen
      • Volvo
  • Events
  • Cars
    • Iconic Cars
    • SCD Car Profiles
    • VRR Car Profiles
    • Car Profiles
    • Garage & Collection Profiles
    • People Profiles
  • Market
    • Auctions Hub
    • Buyer Guides
    • Cars for Sale
  • For Sale
    • Cars for Sale
    • Dealer Showcase
  • Members
    • Become Member
    • Premium Content
    • Member Help
    • Free Newsletter
Reading
Jaguar/Triumph Legend Mike Cook Passes Away
ShareTweet
Racecar News

Jaguar/Triumph Legend Mike Cook Passes Away

 VR Staff

On Tuesday, the British car community lost a dear friend and passionate lifelong advocate, Michael Cook, to pneumonia at the age of 85. Mike had a storied career in advertising and public relations for a host of British brands including Rover, Land Rover, Austin, MG, Jaguar and his beloved Triumph. He retired from Jaguar as Director of U.S. Public Relations in 1991.

Born in Winnipeg, Canada on May 20, 1933, Michael L. “Mike” Cook grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father was an executive with Proctor & Gamble. After a series of pre-war American cars, Cook bought his first English sports car in 1958. Fresh out of college, he paid for the 1955 Triumph TR2 with a 1956 Volkswagen Beetle and $400 cash. From there, Cook’s love of British cars grew, leading him to spend the rest of his life deeply involved in the marketing and public relations efforts that made Americans fall in love with British cars.

One of Cook’s favorite product launches was for the Triumph Herald at the 1960 New York International Auto Show. Cook eventually moved up to become advertising and public relations manager for Triumph in North America. He would stay at Standard-Triumph for nine years through a series of corporate mergers which reshaped the face of the brand.

Now surrounded by sister brands of Jaguar, MG, Rover and Land Rover, Cook dedicated his life to promoting British vehicles in America. Cook continued as public relations manager for nearly a decade until the company was purchased by The Ford Motor Company in December of 1989.

Bob Tullius at the wheel of Group 44 Jaguar XJS.

During his career, Cook also oversaw all motorsports and PR activities for the Triumph and Jaguar brands, from SCCA amateur racing to Trans-Am and the IMSA GTP program with both Group 44 and TWR racing. Cook himself also raced on an amateur level, in TR3s, Spitfires and eventually TR7s and TR8s.

Cook’s last great event prior to his retirement was the grand opening of the $25 million dollar Jaguar North American headquarters on MacArthur Boulevard in Mahwah, NJ in 1990. He hosted royal guests including Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson for the new building’s ribbon cutting ceremony.

Cook’s tenure at Jaguar saw him also involved in the GTP program.

Cook stayed on with the Jaguar brand through the end of 1991. But “retirement” was not in his nature. Since leaving Jaguar full-time, he published three books, “The Triumph Spitfire,” “The Illustrated Jaguar Buyers Guide” and “Triumph Cars in America.” He also updated John Dugdale’s “Jaguar in America”.

He was the editor of two magazines, Jaguar Journaluntil 2015 and The Vintage Triumph, until his passing, for the members of Vintage Triumph Register. Additionally, he had written a monthly column for the now defunct Hemmings’ Sport & Exotic Car.

Cook was also instrumental in setting up the Jaguar North American Archives (now the Jaguar Land Rover North American Archives) at the corporate facility in Mahwah, New Jersey, where he worked up until his recent illness. The archives contain the company papers, literature, thousands of images, racing memorabilia, trophies, heritage certificates, films, videos and other resources documenting Jaguar, Land Rover and all makes of British cars in America. Cook worked at the Jaguar Land Rover archives two days a week, researching answers to historical questions.

Mike Cook was a resident of Wayne, New Jersey, and is survived by his four children.

Tags
Brand (Jaguar)Brand (MG)Brand (Rover)Brand (Triumph)

Get Our Free Weekly Newsletter

We bring you all the latest from the world of vintage and classic cars each week. News, auctions, events, vintage racing and more.

VR Staff
Casey M. Annis is the Founder and Editor of Vintage Road & Racecar magazine, as well as Editor of Alfa Owner, The Oily Rag and BMW Ultimate Classic magazines. He founded Parabolica Publishing in 1997 after a career in neurobiology. Along with his passion for automobiles, Casey is a long distance open-ocean paddleboard racer who’s competed over 10 times in the 32-mile Catalina to Manhattan Beach race and the 32-mile Molokai to Oahu race. Casey still contributes and writes about the world of vintage road and racecars and edits and curates the content for this website.
Related

Porsche Fans Unite at the 2025 Air|Water

25C0091_009 Mercedes-Benz AG - Mercedes-Benz Classic Communications

Le Mans Winner Jochen Mass Passes: Age 78

Marketplace: 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona”

Patrick GOSLING

McLaren W1 Sub-Zero Testing

2025 Hagerty Hill Climb at Shelsley Walsh

2025 Velocity Invitational Postponed

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Free Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Paid Subscription
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • News
  • Cars For Sale
  • Special Feature
  • The Cars
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Meet the Team
Copyright © 2025 A07 Online Media
  • News
  • Features
    • Special Features
    • Moss Special
    • Photography
    • Featured Editorials
    • Racecar Features
    • Roadcar Features
  • Race
    • Racecar Mag.
      • News
      • Features
      • Profile
      • Interview
      • Racecar Gallery
    • Columns
      • First Turn
      • Fast Lines
      • Fabulous Fifties
      • Heroes
      • Legends Speak
      • Stirling Speaks
      • Greatest Racecars
      • Last Lap
    • Profiles
      • Grand Prix History
      • Can-Am Racing
      • Grand Prix Cars
      • Mille Miglia
      • Race Profiles
      • Racecar Profiles
      • Driver Profiles
    • More
      • Art History
      • Fast Exposure
      • Hidden Treasure
      • Hot Laps
      • Time Capsule
      • Market Guide
      • The Golden Age
      • Hard Drive
  • Road
    • Roadcar Mag.
      • News
      • Features
      • Profile
      • Interview
    • Columns
      • From The Editor
      • By Design
      • Driven
      • Flashback
      • Roadcar Gallery
      • Roadcar Video
    • More
      • Roadcar Articles
      • Roadcar Features
      • Roadcar Interviews
      • Roadcar News
      • Roadcar Profiles
  • Brands
    • A to C
      • Alfa Romeo
      • Alpine
      • Auburn
      • Audi
      • Austin
      • Aston Martin
      • Bentley
      • BMW
      • Bugatti
      • Buick
      • Cadillac
      • Chevrolet
      • Chrysler
    • D to L
      • Dodge
      • Duesenberg
      • Ferrari
      • Fiat
      • Ford
      • Hispano Suiza
      • Honda
      • Koenigsegg
      • Jaguar
      • Lagonda
      • Lamborghini
      • Lancia
      • Lexus
      • Lincoln
      • Lola
      • Lotus
    • K to R
      • Maserati
      • Mazda
      • McLaren
      • Mercedes
      • MG
      • Mini
      • Mitsubishi
      • Morgan
      • Nissan
      • Packard
      • Pagani
      • Porsche
      • Renault
      • Rimac
      • Rolls-Royce
    • S to Z
      • SCG
      • Shelby
      • Spyker
      • Subaru
      • Sunbeam
      • Toyota
      • Triumph
      • Vauxhall
      • Volkswagen
      • Volvo
  • Events
  • Cars
    • Iconic Cars
    • SCD Car Profiles
    • VRR Car Profiles
    • Car Profiles
    • Garage & Collection Profiles
    • People Profiles
  • Market
    • Auctions Hub
    • Buyer Guides
    • Cars for Sale
  • For Sale
    • Cars for Sale
    • Dealer Showcase
  • Members
    • Become Member
    • Premium Content
    • Member Help
    • Free Newsletter
All Access
  • Free Newsletter
Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close
Featured (Racecar Feature) Events All The Market (Auctions & Market) The Market (Auctions) Featured (Vintage Car Racing)
See all results

Get Our Free Weekly Newsletter

We bring you all the latest from the world of vintage and classic cars each week. News, auctions, events, vintage racing and more.