The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley in Blackpool, initially manufacturing motorcycle sidecars before developing bodies for passenger cars. In 1934, Walmsley sold his stake and Lyons formed SS Cars. The Jaguar name first appeared in September 1935 on an SS 2½-litre sports saloon, with a matching open two-seater sports model named the SS Jaguar 100. On 23 March 1945, the company changed its name to Jaguar Cars Limited.
The foundation of Jaguar's motorsport success was the twin overhead camshaft XK engine, designed by William Heynes, Walter Hassan, and Claude Baily. Conceived during the Second World War — engineers divided their time between fire-watching and design work — the engine debuted in the XK120 in October 1948. Its hemispherical cross-flow cylinder head, with valves inclined at 45 degrees, proved adaptable across decades. The engine subsequently powered the XK140, XK150, Mark VII saloon, Mark I and II saloons, E-Type, and XJ6 through 1992. A J60 variant powered British Army vehicles including the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family, the Ferret Scout Car, and the Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle.
Jaguar's motorsport programme of the 1950s was explicitly undertaken to prove the engineering integrity of its road cars. The C-Type won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1951 and 1953. The D-Type followed with victories in 1955, 1956, and 1957, with the 1956 and 1957 wins achieved by the Scottish team Ecurie Ecosse. Lofty England managed the racing team during this period and later became CEO of Jaguar in the early 1970s. The 1955 victory was overshadowed by the worst motorsport accident in history at that event. The prototype XJ13, built in the mid-1960s, was never raced.
In 1982, Jaguar began a racing relationship with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, entering the European Touring Car Championship with the XJ-S, which won that championship in 1984. A TWR XJ-S also won the 1985 Bathurst 1000. From the mid-1980s, TWR developed Jaguar V12-engined Group C cars for the World Sports Prototype Championship, winning regularly from 1987. The XJR series sports cars won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990. The XJR-14 took the 1991 World Sportscar Championship, the last of the XJR line to win.
In 1999, Ford decided that Jaguar would be its Formula One entry. Ford purchased the Milton Keynes-based Stewart Grand Prix team and rebranded it as Jaguar Racing for the 2000 season. The programme ran for five seasons between 2000 and 2004, achieving only two podium finishes. With costs mounting and Ford's profits declining, the team was sold to Red Bull at the end of 2004 and rebranded Red Bull Racing.
On 15 December 2015, Jaguar announced its return to motorsport for the third season of Formula E. Jaguar has committed to Formula E until 2030. As of July 2024, Jaguar had recorded 16 wins in Formula E, one Teams' Championship, and one Manufacturers' Trophy. The team's powertrain also allowed customer outfit Envision to claim the Teams' title in the 2022–23 season.
On 15 June 2018, Jaguar Vector Racing broke the world speed record for an electric battery-powered boat. The Jaguar Vector V20E recorded an average speed of 88.61 mph across two legs of the 1 km course on Coniston Water, England.
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