Jaguar began life as Swallow Sidecars in 1922.
Blackpool , a rather dreary town on the Western seaboard of industrial
Lancashire; seemingly an unpromising launch platform for the car that
became as inspirational in Hollywood or Hong Kong as it was in Buenos
Aires or Beijing.
In the years following the end of the First World War, the young
William Lyons appeared to be a pushy young motorcycle sidecar manufacturer
with delusions of grandeur. Ambitious to move up to cars, in 1927
he used his Swallow Sidecars workers' coachbuilding skills to make
bodies for Austin Sevens, giving them a status they scarcely deserved.
They were sold by his chums, the motor trade entrepreneurs Bertie
Henly and Frank Hough, from their classy new premises at 91 Great
Portland Street, London. Henly boldly ordered five hundred cars.
To the Bright Young Things in the West End they were Just the Job,
gleaming with bright colours and flashing with chrome when other
cars were just plain green or staid black.
But to the posh Brooklands crowd, even after Lyons moved his factory
to Coventry, Britain's motor city , the Swallow Sidecar company
and their successors the SS1 and SS2 were a bit infra dig. They
were derided for having a long bonnet but a feeble engine. Most
of the SS components were made by volume manufacturers such as Standard,
and enthusiasts who may not have known any better refused to be
taken in by cosmetic tricks such as two-tone paint or a low roofline.
The public believed it was impossible to build a good car so cheaply,
unaware that Lyons achieved it by keeping a tight control on unnecessary
expenditure rather than skimping on production or materials. As
well as having a gift for how a car should look, Lyons drove a hard
bargain with his suppliers. Production costs well ruthlessly held
down.
Jaguar apprentices were an elite band whose parents paid a premium
to
have their sons work there. They received such a sound training
that the British motor trade and industry became littered with former
Jaguar apprentices in high executive positions.
Lyons' choice of SS as a name of his cars was something of a mystery.
He said SS was not a contraction of Standard Swallow (the SS1 was
effectively a re-bodied Standard Sixteen) or Standard Special. George
Brough, who made the Brough Superior and SS90 motorcycles, believed
Lyons got the idea from him, but perhaps it was just a catchy symbol
of speed and celebrity culled from huge ocean liners whose names
were traditionally prefixed SS (Steam Ship). However the truth is
probable as simple as the fact that William Lyons original company
was called Swallow Sidecars and although his aspirations had long
since passed the days of motorcycle accessories, he probably always
had a nostalgic look back to his roots, and ‘SS ‘was
there.
Nothing caught the mood of the moment so well. Ocean steamships
were trendsetters, cosseting the globetrotting pre-jetsetters of
their day in sumptuous furnishings of splendid art-deco design.
SS still carried no sinister ring, and Lyons began looking through
lists of birds and animals before deciding on the fastest creature
with a name that could be applied to a car. He wanted the name Jaguar,
but permission had to be granted by Bristol-Siddeley (they had already
registered the names Lion, Leopard and Jaguar for use on their aero
engines ) .The name was introduced for new models in September 1935,
and until 1940 they were known as SS Jaguars. However the nomenclature
was reversed for the 2 seater sports car that would become such
an icon in years to come . This was known as the Jaguar SS100.
SS gradually gave way to SS Jaguar and the SS motif on the chrome
radiator was gradually modified to enhance the Jaguar branding.
For a full history please click to download this file fullhistory.htm
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