Jaguar history - William Lyons

William Lyons was younger than Walmesley, but seems to have been able to persuade him to put the sidecar business on a proper businesslike footing, with himself as a partner. Both families were persuaded to back the new venture financially.

The English equivalent to the Model T was the Austin 7, which had first appeared in 1922,  It was a simple car, and Lyons realized that he could build custom bodies to fit its chassis, and create something a little more unique and upmarket.  Lyons and Walmesly purchased their first Austin 7 chassis in 1927 and designed a very stylish 2 seater sports body, to fit its chassis. This was launched in 1927, as the Austin Swallow, and was available in two body styles - a Drop Head Coupe, and a Fixed Head Coupe. At the time the company moved into the Cocker Street premises, the name was changed to The Swallow Sidecar & Coach Building Company to reflect the new business lines.

People liked the Swallow bodied cars, and sales were brisk. The following year, in 1928, another variant appeared,  a saloon version. Just two years after the Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company (as it was known by then) moved into the Cocker Street facility, they realized that to maintain the expansion of the company, they needed to move again, this time to the Midlands of England, where the bulk of the Motor Manufacturing industry was located. The name of the company was changed yet again to the Swallow Coach Building Company, and although the company still built sidecars, and would until the second world war, the name change indicated the increasing importance of the caoch building side of the business.