1938 SS 100 Jaguar 3½-Litre Roadster

This 1938 SS100 Jaguar 3½-Litre Roadster is one of the tidiest examples of the model we’ve seen in recent memory, many automotive historians consider the SS100 to be the best looking pre-war Jaguar and I’m inclined to agree with them.

While the Bugattis of the same era where somewhat feminine in their appearance, the SS100 was a masculine looking automobile with large mesh-covered headlights, twin-horns and a 3.5 litre engine capable of launching it to over 100mph – an almost supersonic speed for the 1930s.

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Originally, the car was offered with either a 2.5 or a 3.5 litre engine, the 2.5 litre Roadster could manage just over 90mph and the 3.5 was rumoured to be capable of 101 mph with the windshield down, your goggles on and your flap cap off.

Only 112 the 3.5 litre models were made before the outbreak of WWII, making them a rare and highly collectible car in the modern day. Prices have been shooting up over the recent past, in 2007 you could reasonably expect to pick one up for ~$450,000 however now you’d be lucky to find one for under $1,000,000.

The engine in the 3.5 litre variant had a listed capacity of 3485cc with a straight-6 overhead valve arrangement and twin-SU carburettors bolted to the side, it could produce 125hp and passed power to the rear wheels via a 4-speed synchromesh gearbox.

If you’d like to bid on the car you see here, you’ll need to visit RM Auctions here and register. It might be worth having a poke around some of the other cars coming up in the same auction as it’s a very impressive line-up.