1938 Jaguar SS100 2½-Litre Roadster

This sunday at Chichester (England), Bonhams will sell this stunning 1938 Jaguar SS100 2½-Litre Roadster for an minimum price of $400,000. I'm still discovering pre-war cars thanks to great design...

History of the Jaguar SS100

The SS100 was launched in 1936 by SS Cars Limited, British manufacturer of sports cars before changing their name to SS Jaguar (and Jaguar after 1945) founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley. SS stands originally for Sidecar & Coachbuilding Company. In October 1931, the first model SS1 was launched, a six cylinder sidevalve engine with 4 speed gearbox with a sport design.

In 1935, the SS90 sports car arrive with the help of the automotive engineer William Heynes (a good first name to work in the company :-)), the sidevakve engine limited the performance with a top speed of 150 kmh. All changed with the SS100 Jaguar, first car to use the Jaguar name, with 2,663cc Standard six which with overhead-valve cylinder head and twin SU carburettors producing 104 hp. The two-seater sports car had a top speed of 160kmh and 11 seconds from 0 to 100kmh.

Around 198 2½-Litre and 116 of the later 3½-Litre cars had been made by the time SS 100 production was ended after the WWII. The survivors are highly sought after, rarely coming on the market. The SS100 had some successes in competition with a first victory in the International Alpine Trial in 1936, beating Bugatti...

Great lines with nice details with this dashboard...

Sources

Auction at Bonhams
SS Jaguar 100 on Wiki
History of SS100 on Hagerty

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