Istorie
The Tourer was launched in 1933. For 1934, the chassis was modified to give a wider track and better front foot wells. A test report in the Autocar magazine from July 9th, 1937, confirmed its responsiveness, and it indeed proved its worth in racing and rallies.
Full description
William Lyons entered the flourishing business shortly after his 21st birthday, in September 1922, in Blackpool, where he founded the Swallow Sidecar Company. From 1927, he used a number of Austin Sevens to build extravagant special two-seater cars. In 1929, the company moved to Coventry and started building special bodies for Fiat, Swift and Standard. It is common knowledge that William Lyons’ motorcars carried the name SS before this was changed to Jaguar în 1935. However, the precise meaning of the two letters remains a controversial topic. It was “Super Swallow” for some, “Swallow Sidecars“ for others , or perhaps “ Standard Swallow”. Later, the brand changed its name and is know today as Jaguar.
In June 1931, the British motor press announced two coupes of outstanding beauty: the SS One and SS Two. They became an event at the London Motor Show in the fall of that year, and also marked the birth of the slogan “value for money”. The SS cost only 310 GBP compared to 1000 GBP for a similar car from a different manufacturer. It was the first proof of Lyons design philosophy: sporty, powerful, with a long bonnet, a low center of gravity and well-balanced weight.
În 1935, working with Harry Weslake, the highly gifted cylinder head engineer had tuned the SS One offering 90 HP, and with even higher compression, to 102 HP. He was also responsible for developing a new chassis. The Tourer was launched in 1933. For 1934, the chassis was modified to give a wider track and better front foot wells.
A test report in the Autocar magazine from July 9th, 1937, confirmed its responsiveness, and it indeed proved its worth in racing and rallies. The motor journalist Tom Wisdom and his wife Elsie, won the Alpine Cup in 1936, and a three-team group won the team prize at the RAC Rally a year later and a privately–entered SS100 scored the overall victory in 1937.
This car has 89,819 miles on board (approx. 144,549 km).
