Three generations of the same name, the same marque, the same standards.
First generation · 1903–1989
Jaguar's Chief Engineer and Technical Director, 1935 to 1969. Designer of the XK engine. The man who persuaded Sir William Lyons that Jaguar should build its own — and brought home five Le Mans wins.
Born in Leamington Spa in 1903, Heynes joined the Humber drawing office in Coventry at eighteen and rose to head its technical department by 1930. Lyons recruited him to SS Cars in April 1935; in 1946 he was appointed to the main board as Technical Director and Chief Engineer. Across thirty-five years he led the engineering of every road Jaguar from the Mk V onward — the XK120, 140 and 150; the C-Type, D-Type and E-Type; the Mk 1, Mk 2, the Mk VII–X saloons, and the XJ6.
The XK engine he drew up during the war ran in production for thirty-five years, in capacities from 2.4 to 4.2 litres. He introduced torsion-bar front suspension, independent rear suspension (1961, with Bob Knight), and Dunlop disc brakes (1952) to the marque. His cars won at Le Mans in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1957. He was appointed CBE for services to vehicle design and exports, and retired in 1969 as Vice Chairman and Technical Director after thirty-five years.
Second generation
William's father owned a series of significant 1950s and 60s Jaguars. The cars weren't trophies; they were used. Driven, fettled, kept correct. That ordinary intimacy with the marque is what gets passed down.
Third generation · today
Founder. Spent his childhood under E-Types. Trained in fabrication. Founded William Heynes Ltd in 2021 with Amy Shore — the automotive photographer whose images you see across this site. The work is done by a small, deliberate team. By design.
We find reference points around the world — original cars, original parts, factory documentation — to ensure each restoration is as correct to its production week as possible. Not the year. The week. Tooling, fasteners, coatings and finishes change month to month at Browns Lane. We work from that level of detail.
Some clients want their car factory-fresh. Others want to keep the soul of seventy years of use, with mechanical perfection underneath. Both are valid. We do both — and we'll talk you through which is right for your particular car.
We take on what we can do properly — and no more. Your car will be touched by a small number of people, each known to you by name. That's how the work stays consistent.
2022
A car prepared by William Heynes Ltd shown on the 18th green at Pebble Beach.
HCVA
Member of the Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance since 2023. William sits on the advisory group.
HCC
Cars prepared by the workshop have been invited to Hampton Court Palace.
SM
William is a trustee of Startermotor, the charity introducing young people to the historic vehicle industry.
XK
Bill Heynes designed it in 1948. We still rebuild them as he intended — to factory tolerance, with period-correct internals.
5×
The five wins Bill Heynes engineered for Jaguar — 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 — set a standard the family still works to.