1934 SS Cars SS1 Saloon

Jaguar began in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company., Ltd. Sir William Lyons - 'just plain Bill' - 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 Company., 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 William put it many years later. The exhibited a distinctive long hood and low silhouette, and was the first full-sized automobile produced by the company. The first SS1 tourers had a 15 horsepower, 2-liter side-valve engine, but were not very fast. In 1934 the SS1 model was fitted with a more powerful 2.5-liter, 6-cylinder engine.

This example represents the second series SS-1 and is the final configuration of this design. These cars were derived for having a long bonnet but a feeble engine; however, the price was about one third the cost of a similarly styled Bentley. This car is one of just six known to survive with all of its original running gear. Its interior features the Lyons-designed Sunburst door upholstery that actually replicated the archway leading into Lyons' original Swallow factory; this design only appears on the SS1 models. This car was restored in 2006, to its exact original condition by White Port Restorations and is currently on its fifth owner from new.

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