Malcolm Sayer

During the fifties, GT racing was dominated by a franchise which today seems unlikely as an innovation leader. The indomitable Sir William Lyon's Jaguar. I say Sir William Lyon's Jaguar because the beginning of the end for Jaguar was marked when Jaguar was purchased by British Leland in 1966 which because of financial trouble, mismanagement and lack of quality would prove to damage Jaguars reputation and alienate their customer base.

Malcolm Sayer

However, in 1951 an aeronautical designer named Malcolm Sayer joined Jaguar Cars. Malcolm had served in the manufacturing division of Bristol Aeroplane Company during World War 2 where he learned specifics about low drag design. Beyond his innate eye for design, Sayer was an engineering prodigy. During his tenure at Jaguar, Sayer helped Jaguar institute his own logarithms for design involving a slide rule and what he called seven digit log tables. This gave Sayer the ability to map complex curvatures through exacting calculations involved in design theory. Design software used by designers today is based on iterations of Sayers original formulas.

All of this is somewhat boring to some but what is sometimes hard to imagine is that before Sayer, most cars were all designed as you go on wooden bucks and chalkboard rise/run engineering. Prior to Sayers involvement in the firm, the XK120 was famously designed by Sir William Lyons himself along with a master craftsman. No drawings, no tables just Lyons' vision of his supercar and design as you go. There is no arguing the genius of Lyons on the XK120. He accomplished his goal of creating the fastest top speed supercar of the time. In 1947 the XK120 topped out at 120mph. It was so important to Lyons, he named the car after it. It is also noteworthy to mention the engineer instrumental in the development of the dual overhead cam inline six which ran the fastest supercar in the world, Bill Heynes. But that is a whole other story.

XK120-C

When Sayer came on, Jaguar was looking for a limited production run model based on the XK120 chassis. Sayer designed the XK120-C otherwise known as the Jaguar C-Type. Sayer designed a full aluminum bodied Barchetta style car. Sayer labored under the opportunity to further Jaguars racing interests and produced a full aluminum body mounted on a spaceframe tube chassis. The XK-C was launched into immediately successful campaigns which resulted in multiple wins at Le Mans, Mille Miglia and others. News of Mercedes 300 SL's played a factor into the evolution of C type engine tunes. Stock XK120's produced 160 bhp. The different iterations of engine tune for the C type ranged from 180 bhp to over 220 bhp and extreme weight saving methods were utilized including thinner wall steel tubing for the spaceframe and rubber fuel bladders replaced metal fuel tanks. Some of the most famous names in racing piloted these cars to victories including Sterling Moss, Phil Hill, Peter Whitehead and Duncan Hamilton. Current estimated values are between $800,000 and $2.2M.

XK120-D

In order for Jaguar to remain competitive in the face of Mercedes new super advanced SLR's an updated single seat ultralight car was necessary. Sayer again went back to the drawing board and emerged with in my opinion one of the most radically advanced designs of the era, the D type. This important car also introduced the Monocoque chassis design to racing where the exterior skin directly related to the overall structural integrity of the car. The D-Type was made again of Aluminum but improvements to the C-Type design were extremely low drag achieved by under body sheeting and a vertical wing to assist the D-Type in reaching extremely high speeds in the long Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. Though the D Type performed extremely well in competition, Jaguar cut funding for the racing program in 1957. The D-Type continued to win races even after Jaguar exited the program. Though D-Types are extremely desirable and valuable today, Jaguar was not able to entice privateers to purchase the remaining D-Types in production. Lyon's planned to convert the remaining unsold chassis to a road going two seater which could appeal to the growing demand in the American market. On February 12, 1957 a fire broke out at the division of Jaguar where the D-Types were being produced destroying 9 of the 25 cars in process and completed.

XKSS

The question was once again put to Sayer, What to do with the remaining 16 D-Type chassis? With the project outlined by Lyons, Sayer began to create a stramlined Barchetta supercar given the factory designation of XKSS. Sayer had his eye on what would appeal to the American market. The XKSS would rise to infamy due mostly to its endorsement from its most famous owner, Steve McQueen. McQueen was often quoted stating that he would drag race the SS in the hills above Hollywood. His car is currently in the possession of the Peterson Automotive Museum and on Display in a city near my home. I will be touring the exhibit this summer and will put together a special article about this amazing car. In 2011 there was an unprecedented showing of 12 of the 16 XKSS models at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concourse De Elegance. This signified the first documented event where 12 of the 16 examples were reunited in the same show and was a breathtaking homage to the designer who was known as the "master of metal."

XK E

 The E-Type Jaguar celebrated its 50th Year this year. The E-Type was Malcolm Sayers most successful design. At the 1960 Paris Auto Show, when Enzo Ferrari saw the XK-E he called it "the most beautiful car ever made." There is a rumor that the Ferrari 250 GTO was developed in direct response to the XK-E in a panic and was shotgunned through production in roughly 6 weeks. Enzo leaned heavily on Scaglietti, Ferrari's resident designer to fit the body to a standard SWB 250 GT. Ferrari also challenged Bizarrini to shoehorn a v12 out of the Testarossa into the SWB chassis. There was a falling out during this period between Ferrari and long time engineer Bizarrini. The explosion led to Enzo clearing out his engineering staff mid project. The overall assumption is that this car rocked Ferrari to its core.

During the long production run starting in 1960 and ending in 1974, the E type would survive many different iterations ranging from the infamous low drag E type to the awkwardly lumpy 2+2. There is no doubt that Sayers E type completely redefined the culture of Jaguar. Even today the styling of the long bonnet, short boot, rear wheel tuck under the quarter panel is still found in Jaguars new production cars. The New York Museum of Modern Art added an E Type to its permanent design collection in 1996. One of just 6 cars to be accepted into the functional art world and given a permanent position next to their Cisitalia 202. It would be impossible to measure the impact this car has had on the automotive industry.

XJ13

Jaguar wanted to produce a mid engined supercar to compete with the powerful ferrari lineup. Sayer designed a mid-engined V12 supercar.To Jaguar enthusiasts the XJ13 is the Holy Grail. It is priceless because the private owner has never offered it for sale. It is rumored that the he was offered over $11M in 1996 which he respectfully declined. The XJ13 carried a mid engined 5.0L V12. Due to changing rules in GT limiting engine capacity to 3.0L, the XJ13 didn't comply with regulations.

In 1971 the XJ13 was taken out of its 4 year storage at Jaguar. Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis was given the task of taking laps as part of a press junket to hype the V12 E-Type release. Dewis took it easy on the first 4 laps and then began pushing the car in the banks. The rear outside wheel collapsed in the turn and tossed the car over the wall. Dewis recalls shutting down the engine in the middle of the wreck and pulling himself under the dash for protection. Luckily the amazing response of Dewis is credited for the XJ13 not exploding into flames during the catastrophic wreck. Jaguar would eventually spend 1971-1972 rebuilding the XJ13 to its original condition. This car was designed for incredible high speed, aerodynamics, and perfect balance however, due to the damage of the accident the XJ13's potential remains untested.

Malcolm Sayer died in 1970 at the early age of 54 years old. Lyons credited Sayer with playing a leading role in the development of the Jaguar brand. There are designers who often have one or two hits that help their firms get on deck so to speak. Sayer was responsible for home run after home run. He took the small Coventry boutique manufacturer to a firm which dominated a decade in racing. Outgunning by hugely successful firms of Ferrari and Mercedes. He was known for being reserved, quiet family man who valued his relationship with his children and shied away from the limelight.

Accomplished designer, fabricator, and musician. Sayer was a dying breed of renaissance men.

Scott Madsen
- Zagato's Ghost