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Birth of a cat - History of the SS Jaguar 100 and its predecessor P.S. 90

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Created on March 1, 1988

Reading time 10min

Written by:

Christian Jenny

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Khiem Pahm - Courtesy RM Auctions 2011

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions 2011

Bruno von Rotz

Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Auctions

Balz Schreier

RM Auction Darin Schnabel

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Khiem Pahm - Courtesy RM Auctions 2011

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions 2011

Bruno von Rotz

Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Auctions

Balz Schreier

RM Auction Darin Schnabel

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Archiv

Jaguar SS 100 3,5 Litre Roadster (1937) - als Lot 138 an der Monterey RM Auction vom 17. und 18. August 2012 angeboten

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - an der RM Auction in London im Jahr 2011 als Lot 233 versteigert

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Jaguar SS 100 3.5 Litre Roadster (1938) - angeboten als Lot 233 an der RM Auction London vom 26. Oktober 2011

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2-Litre Roadster (1936) - angeboten als Lot 161 an der Versteigerung von RM Auctions in London am 31. Oktober 2012

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SS Jaguar 100 (1936) - Teilnehmer im Rennen um die Brookland Trophy am Goodwood Revival 2012

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Jaguar SS 100 (1936) - am Grossglockner Grand Prix 2012

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - am Start beim GP Suisse 2012 in der Kategorie Renn- und Sportwagen bis 1945 (Vorkriegswagen)

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Jaguar SS 100 (1936) - der Sportwagen, mit dem Jaguar vor dem Krieg die Konkurrenz aufrüttelte - RAID Suisse-Paris 2012

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - an der Ennstal-Classic 2012 - Orange Prolog

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - im Feld der Vorkriegsrennwagen am GP Mutschellen 2012

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Jaguar SS 100 (1936) mit Startnummer 148 am Bergrennen Arosa ClassicCar 2011

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Jaguar SS 100 (1937) an der Ennstal Klassik 2010

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - an der RM Auction in Monterey im Jahr 2011 als Lot 235 versteigert

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - Frontansicht des restaurierten Jaguars

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - sorgfältig restauriert in den Fünfzigerjahren, als es noch nicht so üblich war, Fahrzeuge wieder in den Urzustand zu versetzen

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - wurde bereits in den Fünfzigerjahren restauriert

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Jaguar SS 100 (1938) - Interieur des in den Fünfzigerjahren restaurierten SS 100

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SS Jaguar 100 (1940) – als "open model" mit 2,5- und 3,5-Liter-Motoren erhältlich

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SS Jaguar 100 2 1/2 Litre (1936) – zeitgenössische Illustration von ausgesprochener Eleganz

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Jaguar SS 100 (1936) - Chassis der 2 1/2-Liter Version

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Jaguar SS 100 (1936) - Aufnahme aus den Siebzigerjahren

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Jaguar SS 100 Coupé (1938) - geschlossene Version des bekannten Sportwagens

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Summary

In 1935, S.S. Cars Ltd, Coventry, was an active but still small manufacturer of sports car-like vehicles. However, the S.S. 90 catapulted the company straight into sports car heaven and the SS 100 cemented its reputation for being able to offer competitive sports cars at a fraction of the price of other top products. Although only a few hundred examples were built, today the SS 100 (and its predecessor) is one of the best-known pre-war vehicles of all time. In this report, the author summarizes the history of the SS Jaguar 100. The review is illustrated with present-day and historical photos as well as four original sales brochures, which are rarely seen.

This article contains the following chapters

The leap forward - S.S. 90
The SS Jaguar 100
Weslake and Heynes
From the S.S. to the Jaguar
Comfortable interior
The 3 1/2-liter
Post-war successes
Until today
High survival rate

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In 1935, S.S. Cars Ltd, Coventry, was an active but still small manufacturer of sports car-like vehicles. The "S.S." stood for "Swallow Sidecar". It created its vehicles on the basis of components purchased from the standard factories. Although the S.S. I and S.S. II looked "fast", their performance and driving characteristics hardly exceeded those of a good family car - even of that provenance. The decisive turning point towards the production of top-class sports and touring cars, the attributes that we associate with the name Jaguar today, came in March 1935 when William Lyons, the founder and Managing Director, announced the S.S. 90. "The S.S. 90," it read in "Autocar", "is designed to be suitable for racing purposes without any doubt." Although this was not to be the case, the chassis and suspension exceeded what could be expected of a "normal" sports car in the mid-1930s. Although still side-steered, the 2.6-litre 6-cylinder engine with around 80 hp helped the vehicle, which weighed barely 1000 kg, to achieve performance that was impressive: 18 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h - and with very good elasticity - was far below the norm.

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