1936 SS Cars SS 100

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley (who sold his shares in 1935). Manufacturing initially focused on small cars based on the Austin Seven. The company's name was changed to SS Cars in 1933, and larger, sportier cars were built. On March 23rd, 1945, S.S. Cars Limited became Jaguar Cars Limited.

The first of the SS cars was the 1932 SS1 equipped with a 2-liter or 2.5-liter side-valve engine supplied by the Standard Motor Company. The chassis and four-speed gearbox was also by Standard. Although its performance was rather lackluster, it set the tone for future 'Jaguars' with sporting good looks, better-than-average specification, and a reasonable price. The SS2 had a four-cylinder 1.0-liter side-valve engine. Body styles initially included a tourer or coupe, with a saloon being added in 1934 when the chassis grew two inches wider.

The SS 90 arrived in March of 1935 and was the first of the open two-seater sports body styles. By this point, William Heynes had joined as Chief Engineer. The '90' in its name was in reference to the 90 mph top speed, courtesy of its 2.5-liter, side-valve, six-cylinder engine. The sporty bodies benefitted from Lyons' talents as a stylist, with a long bonnet, cut-away doors, a truncated tail, and smoothly flowing wings. Limited by its side-valve engine, the SS 90 range evolved into the SS 100 with 2.5-liter power and soon with 3.5-liter power.

With a newly designed overhead valve head by Harry Weslake and twin SU carburetors, output increased by 30 (over the SS90) for the SS 100 to approximately 104 bhp. Coupled with a lightweight and shortened 102-inch wheelbase SS1 chassis, the SS 100 was the company's first real high-performance model. Essentially hand built, the SS 100 offered class-leading performance with equally impressive aesthetics. The short 8-foot, 8-inch wheelbase had a 4-foot, 6-inch track and was disarmingly compact for its curvaceous coachwork, low bonnet line, and sharply sloping tail.

Launched in 1936 alongside the 2½-Litre saloon, the SS 100 Jaguar sports car marked the company's first use of the 'Jaguar' name. Production of the sporty SS 100 would remain limited as the company focused on its saloon cars. Equally adept on both the road and track, the SS 100's earliest success was when Tommy Wisdom, crewed by his wife Elsie, won the International Alpine Trial in 1936. Many rallying successes followed, including wins in the RAC events of 1937 and 1938, and the Alpine (outright) again in 1948.

From September 1937 onwards, a larger 3486cc engine was offered, which boasted a stiffer chrome-iron crankcase turning in sturdier main bearings, larger valve diameters, six individual exhaust ports and steel alloy connecting rods. The cylinder bore had been increased from 73 mm to 82 mm, and the stroke was stretched from 106 mm to 110 mm, expanding displacement from 2,664 cc to 3,486 cc. The compression ratio was reduced from 7.6:1 to 7.2:1, and the engine's peak output rpm diminished slightly, thanks to the longer stroke from 4,600 rpm to 4,250. With the modifications and larger displacement, the engine offered 125 bhp at 4,500 RPM. Along with a new transmission, driveshaft, and differential, the 3.5-liter six SS 100 could sprint from zero-to-sixty mph in 10.4 seconds with a top speed of 101 mph.

The 3.5-liter SS 100 was unveiled in 1937 at the London Auto Show.

Before production was prematurely ended by the outbreak of World War II, around 190 examples of the 2½-Litre and 116 of the later 3½-Litre cars were built. Production was low due to the craftsmanship that went into building these hand-built machines, with demand far outstripping supply.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2023