Is this controversy not just about a mere car, and instead, is it in fact a key turning point in the way Britain thinks about itself psychologically?
It’s no accident that Hollywood has British secret agent Austin Powers driving a Jaguar draped in an ostentatious Union Jack paint scheme; this brand uniquely transmits traditional Britishness to the world. The lack of confidence in a Jag being a Jag appears to hasten the day when even James Bond may be too embarrassed to drive a British car.
I feel qualified to comment on the link between the exceptional emotional power of sports cars, not just as a psychiatrist who also collects classic jaguars, but also as the author of popular articles on what the car you drive reveals about your personality.
Elon Musk, owner of now the most valuable carmaker worldwide, Tesla, asked Jaguar: “Do you sell cars?” He correctly psychoanalysed that Jaguar, appears to have become embarrassed about… making cars. So brace yourself for the bumpy journey.
During the early 1930’s, the UK apparently overtook France to become Europe’s largest car producer, while in the early 1950’s, it is claimed, that we provided over 50% of all the world’s exported vehicles. So given this downward spiral, now is a vital psychological moment for the nation; is this the last pit stop before the end of the race for us?
Jaguar was a key brand back in the swinging sixties, which symbolised what made Britain cool and great, even as the Empire was being dismantled.
When the Jaguar E-Type Series 1 was unveiled for the first time at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, the world gasped and wondered at the unrivalled achievement of British Engineering. Even Enzo Ferrari infamously admitted, through gritted teeth, it to be “the most beautiful car ever made.” The unprecedented hullaballoo generated meant Jaguar suddenly needed another E-Type at the show. One of the test engineers was urgently told to drop everything and raced at the last minute, from Coventry to Geneva in just twelve hours, arriving in the E-Type that was going on display, with just minutes before the show opened.
I am sure he stuck to the speed limit religiously!
It’s this kind of derring-do that contributes to the legend that is Jaguar, and the mythology that any country needs to restore pride in itself, through the glamour of what it makes. And indeed, why it bothers to make anything at all. People, just as nations do, need stories to relate about ourselves which contribute to our sense of self-esteem.
Jaguar seems to have forgotten this essential point, perhaps it is even now embarrassed about the brand symbolising a certain roguish flamboyance.
Indeed, no film about the notorious East End gangsters the Krays is complete without featuring the massive yet sleek Jaguar 420G which they famously tooled around in, intimidating fellow criminals.
I own a 1969 model of the same car, and can attest to the fact it remains a menacing and daunting design, that still today stops passers-by in their tracks. We all know that gangsters from yesteryear had more style. They always sported the prettiest girls on their arms, wore the sharpest suits, and, of course, drove the most glamorous cars.
The Krays wouldn’t be found dead in a Mercedes. The gangsters famously explained that they loved their Jaguar because the boot was so big, it could hold (and I am paraphrasing now), two bodies and ten Rembrandts.
We need a return to the kind of devil-may-care courage to take risks, which explains why Jaguar won the 24 hours Le Mans race five times between 1951 and 1957. They didn’t do that by being scared to be different, or of not offending anyone.
- Dr Raj Persaud is a Harley Street psychiatrist and author of The Mental Vaccine for Covid 19 (Amberley Press). He owns a Jaguar XK 120, a 420G, an E-Type and an XJS V12 convertible
