Not really. It's really a luxury car brand. They have sporty fast cars (I'd kill for a manual F type) but they're by no means a race car company. They had an F1 team but it wasn't very successful and it looks like they only dabble in motorsports a little bit as of recent according to wikipedia. If I'm looking for really performance-focused cars I'm not looking at Jaguars. I'm looking at Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, AMG Mercedes, M BMWs, etc. With Jags you're really spending a lot of $$$ for comparable performance from something like an M3 or a Z06 Corvette (an admittedly difficult to compete with package).
I think the primary allure of the Jaguar brand is that dignified, beautiful, English car exemplified by the old XJ (the car from Shaun of the Dead is an XJ). It's allure is not "I'm gonna hoon in this thing and hit 0-60mph in under 4 seconds."
Well they had a history of dominating at le mans in the 1950's. Then they had the E-type in the 1960's and 1970's
which Enzo Ferrari called the most beautiful car in the world - it was also tough competition for a Ferrari at 1/5th the price.
So they had a sporting history which like other car companies they're now resting on.
They also had a history as being the car for the self made man. The MkII was the car for bank and train robberies at the time. You'd meet a lot of Jag owners in jail...
I think the primary allure of the Jaguar brand is that dignified, beautiful, English car exemplified by the old XJ (the car from Shaun of the Dead is an XJ). It's allure is not "I'm gonna hoon in this thing and hit 0-60mph in under 4 seconds."