The SS Jaguar 100 2½-Litre Roadster was the first car to wear the name “Jaguar” and set the trend for the company post-WW2, up until 1945 the company had been called SS Cars Ltd but in the post-Nazi-SS climate of 1945 it was universally agreed that the company should be named after its most famous model.
SS Cars Ltd unveiled the SS Jaguar 100 in 1936, it was a ground-breaking car for the era and it’s 2663cc overhead-valve 6-cylinder engine produced 105 bhp, it was fitted as standard with a 4-speed manual transmission, a beam front axle, a live rear axle and 4-wheel finned drum brakes.
The original brochure for the SS 100 described it as a car “designed primarily for competition work… but equally suitable for ordinary road use, for despite the virility of its performance, it is sufficiently tractable for use as a fast touring car without modification”.
Professional and amateur racers quickly recognised that it was capable of performance far in excess of most cars available to the public – the SS Jaguar 100 was a regular winner in hill climbs, rallies and road races, it ran at all the top racing events of the day including Donington Park, Brooklands, Shelsley Walsh and the RAC Rally.
The 2½-Litre engine was an evolution of the older 2500cc Standard pushrod unit converted from side-valve to overhead-valve with an all-new cylinder head designed by Harry Weslake and William Heynes. The power output was boosted from 70hp to 100hp and twin SU carburettors were bolted directly to the newly designed cylinder head.
The SS 100 pictured here has been recently restored and is now one of the nicer examples of the 198 original cars, it’s due to roll across the auction block with RM Auctions on the 25th May 2013 and has an estimated gavel price of €250,000 to €300,000. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’ll go for a little more than that these cars are incredibly rare and have been fetching higher and higher bids at auctions (when they come up for sale).
Click here to visit the official listing.
Photo Credits: James Mann ©2013 Courtesy of RM Auctions
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