Beschreibung:

Forerunner of the marque ‘Jaguar’ from SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, the SS1 predated yet epitomised the later advertising slogan, ‘Grace, Space, Pace.’ ‘SS’ originally stood for the Swallow Sidecar & Coachbuilding Company, which had been founded in Blackpool, England by William Walmsley in 1922. The company branched out into motor manufacture in 1926, its first major success being an attractive sports saloon on the Austin Seven chassis. The design was the work of Walmsley’s partner, William Lyons, whose future Jaguar creations would confirm his reputation as one of the British motor industry’s most gifted stylists. Relocation to Coventry followed and the Swallow range expanded to include models on Morris Cowley, Wolseley Hornet and Standard Sixteen chassis. Marque status arrived in October 1931 with the launch of the SS1, a close-coupled coupé. Based on that of the Standard Ensign 16hp, the SS1’s low, under-slung chassis was designed by Lyons and supplied exclusively to Swallow by Standard, which also provided the 2.1/2.6-litre six-cylinder sidevalve engine and four-speed gearbox. Lyons’ design for the body was startling: the SS1’s excessively long bonnet, tiny passenger compartment and helmet-type front wings suggesting that it represented the ultimate in high performance. In so doing, the SS1 went some way towards establishing the pattern for future Jaguars, combining sporting good looks with a better-than-average specification and all at a bargain price. Indeed, so successful was Lyons’ new venture that production of Swallow-bodied cars ceased altogether in 1933 and SS Cars Limited was formed, initially as a subsidiary of the Swallow sidecar-building business. The SS1 body style was revised for 1933 and the engines up-rated with alloy cylinder heads and improved manifolding, advances that raised the top speed to 75mph. For 1934 the SS1 gained a new wide-track chassis and slightly enlarged Standard engines of 2,143cc and 2,663cc, while the body - now available in four different configurations - underwent yet another restyle. In this, its final form, the SS1 remained in production until 1936, by which time 2,503 examples of this ultimate version had been made. This 2.1-litre example of the concluding SS1 comes with Jaguar-Daimler Heritage Trust Production Record Trace Certificate confirming that it was manufactured in May 1934 as a right-hand drive tourer and first owned in the UK by a D G Foster, of Sutton Coldfield. Other documentation on file records the fact that the car, registered ‘AOE 555’, was exported from the UK in July 1997 and subsequently owned in the USA by Mr Michael Tate, of Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. While in Mr Tate’s ownership the car was completely restored by Cloverleaf Auto Service Inc, of Aston, PA (see bills on file). Entered in two Jaguar Clubs of North America concours competitions, it scored marks of 99.8 out a maximum of 100 in the Champion Division on both occasions (in 2000 and 2002). Presented in superb, concours-worthy condition, the car is offered with the aforementioned documentation, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Certificate of Title, old UK continuation logbook (issued 1962), original instruction book and SS Cars sales brochure from 1934. Cet exemplaire 2,1 litres de la SS1 finale est accompagné d'un certificat de registre de production, émanant du Jaguar-Daimler Heritage Trust, qui confirme que cette voiture a été fabriquée en mai 1934 comme tourer à conduite à droite, et que son premier propriétaire a été un DG Foster, de Sutton Coldfield, en Angleterre. D'autres documents du dossier indiquent que la voiture, immatriculée "AOE 555", a été exportée de Grande-Bretagne en juillet 1997 pour passer entre les mains de M. Michael Tate, de Gwynedd Valley, en Pennsylvanie, aux Etats-Unis. La voiture a été alors complètement restaurée par Cloverleaf Auto Service Inc, d'Aston, Pennsylvanie (voir les factures dans le dossier). Inscrite à deux concours d'élégance de Clubs Jaguar d'Amérique du Nord, elle