1933 SS Cars SS1 Saloon

Jaguar began in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Co., Ltd. Sir William Lyons - a motorcycle sidecar manufacturer, had ambitions to move up to cars. In 1927, he used his skills to make bodies for Austin Sevens as the Swallow Coachbuilding Co., Ltd., of Coventry, England. 1931 marked the beginning of SS cars. The SS cars were built on Swallow-designed frames to 'lower the standing height as much as possible,' as Sir Williams put it many years later.

This example represents the second Series SS ONE and is the final configuration of this design. These cars were derided for having a long bonnet but a feeble engine; however, the price was about one-third the cost of a similarly styled Bentley.

The SS moniker disappeared in 1936, and the company changed its name to Jaguar Cars.

SS Cars Ltd of Foleshill, Coventry offered a 9 horsepower, 1006cc SS2 for the 1933 season along with a 15.9 horsepower 2054cc unit on the SS1. Their vehicles were both stylish and sporty.
At the 26th Motor Exhibition at Olympia in October 1932 Swallow Coachbuilding Co. Ltd., as they were then called, displayed their productions in the coachbuilders' section of the show, as the SS had not yet been regarded as a marque in its own right. Other companies in this highly competitive group included Riley, MG, and Singer. Their goal was to produce a budget-priced sports car for a market that was quickly emerging from a recession and a depression. The SS Company was a late starter in this group, announcing their SS1 model in September of 1932 of the 1933 season. It had a long wheelbase chassis that measured 9 feet and 11 inches and the coachwork reflected the elegant flowing wings styled by Mr. Lyon's himself. In the back, the vehicle featured an underslung chassis with centre cruciform bracing. The Standard engines now featured aluminum cylinder heads with higher compression ratios, gave the vehicle a sporty persona. The early models suffered from heating problems, but this problem was soon rectified.

The large wheelbase offered comfortable four-passenger accommodation. The flowing front wings, sweeping into integral running boards, gave it a striking appearing. The upswept scuttle on the open four-seaters deflected the wind when driving with windscreen folded flat.

In 1931 the Swallow Coachbuilding Company of Coventry, England, used a Standard Motor Company 16 horsepower, 2.054 liter inline six-cylinder motor and a low-slung chassis to create the SS1 - a sharp contrast to other sports cars of the era. In 1934 the Company was renamed S.S. Cars Ltd. and then in 1945 it became Jaguar, in accord with the name of its very popular sports models.