The Jaguar name is synonymous with style, power, performance, and luxury, so you might never guess that the company began in a Blackpool backstreet, making motorbike sidecars. The extraordinary vision of founder William Lyons turned this humble enterprise first into a maker of natty car bodywork, before it took its first tentative steps, in 1932, to become a proper manufacturer. Jaguar Cars was formed in 1945, and the metamorphosis began: superb engines, knock-out design, epic racing victories and thrilling sports saloons followed. Rocky times were endured, but with the XF and new F-type Jaguar was once more a world beater, though the future after Brexit is less certain. | The Jaguar Story by Giles Chapman, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters