In the auto industry every automobile has its predecessors, its underpinnings. So is it even with the famed British luxury sport cars – the Jaguar stable.

The vehicle that seems to have started the later Jaguar model line on its rise to stardom was the 1931 Swallow SS1. Swallow Side Cars and Light Car Bodies had introduced to the British and British export market a fairly mundane though well accepted variant of Austin Seven – named the Swallow Seven. Yet how did sleek slender SS1 tourer evolve from a certainly much more passive & mundane predecessor?

Yet the Swallow Sidecar Company (the name was changed after World War II to the Jaguar firm) had the foresight drive and gumption to step out of mold and persuade another existing automobile manufacturer to supply the key and vital hardware. William Lyons the head of Swallow realized that fundamentally that his firm could not possibly finance the capital and true manufacturing facilities required and indeed essential to outfit or even operate such an operation of this scale, magnitude and expertise. As a direct result a recognized leader in the British auto manufacturing field , Standard Motor Company, reached an agreement with Swallow to manufacture and supply a full running chassis to Swallow’s own specific designs and specifications. Thus this could be said to be a forerunner of modern and current auto design and manufacturing processes, tactics and strategies. In house design yet manufacturing and engineering outsourced. In this case however outsourcing of auto chassis and parts were within the host country of the British Isles not overseas to some far away place.

The direct result was the carnation red, black fendered S.S.1 which created such an impact at the 1931 London Motor Show held at Olympia. The SS1 motorcar strove to emulate the long and sleek lines of the very latest stylish “coupes ” of the day, which in the previous couple of years , and last fortnight had been built in relatively small and tiny numbers on prestige chassis both in America & Europe. These “super cars” sold for thousands of British pound sterling or many many more thousands of dollars yet suddenly out of thin air ( and certainly not expected from the Swallow Works), here was a totally brand new automobile model creation called an or the “S.S.” looked to most almost as good yet cost only a few hundred British pounds Sterling – 310 to be exact on the money.

It is little wonder that the Swallow S.S.1 created such an impact on the British auto scene at the time in 1931 – even though it was at the start of the economic depression of the 1930’s era. Swallow’s SS1 model could be said to be the Ford Mustang of its day. A fast sleek car which turned heads was well equipped and downright beautiful and attractive yet could be had at a very low price indeed. Indeed it was the car’s styling linked to its price that was the focus of attention. Swallow had a real winner on its hands. Yet it can not be denied that the future top luxury British car line arose out of a budget poor man’s version of a sports car.

Author Bio: Arthur T. Fellon Vancouver BC 2010 Chevy Camaro http://eagleridgegm.com/ Coquitlam Lower Mainland BC Chevrolet 2010 Chevy Cobalt Vancouver BC

Category: Automotive
Keywords: vintage auto,classic sports cars,Jaguar,Jaguar auto history,British Sport Cars,Ford,Jaguars