Of Swallows and Cats

In honor of its 75th anniversary this year, we’ve partnered with Jaguar to bring you this special issue commemorating the famed British marque’s long and illustrious racing history. Within these pages you’ll read of Jaguar’s virtual dominance of Le Mans in the ’50s, its triumphant return to La Sarthe in the ’80s, as well as a host of production-based racing successes logged all around the globe. Interestingly, this 75-year trail of racing and production car success traces its roots back to, of all things, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle purchased in 1919.

Growing up in Blackpool, England, at the turn of the century, a young William Lyons fell in love with, not the automobile, but the motorcycle. By age 17, Lyons was the proud owner of a Sunbeam motorcycle and had helped to found a local motorcycle club. However, the following year, Lyons would move up to a Harley-Davidson “Daytona,” which would open him up to a new world of speed competitions, including a victory that year in the speed hill climb at Waddington Fells.