1934 Jaguar SS1 Coupe

This barn-find 1934 Jaguar SS1 Coupe is a black-plate California car and an exciting original discovery that's been sitting off the road since 1968. Green with tan interior. The car comes largely complete and retains its original engine. Its gearbox is also with the car. A rare find, especially in unrestored condition. This special car is well worth the effort to restore.

Forerunner of the 'Jaguar' marque, the SS1 predated yet epitomized the former's 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 and marque status arrived in October 1931 with the launch of the SS1 coup?. The SS1's low, under-slung chassis was designed by Lyons and supplied exclusively to Swallow by John Black's Standard Motor Company, which also provided the six-cylinder 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 remained in production until 1936.

Black-plate California barn-find

Original unrestored example

Rare early SS model

Off the road since 1968

Retains its original engine