Descripción
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
13th March, 2024 13:00
1937 Jaguar SS 2. 5 Litre Sports Saloon
Estimate
£40, 000 - £50, 000
Registration No: DYM 180
Chassis No: 13342
MOT: Exempt
Supplied new by Henly’s of Piccadilly to a Mr Worricker, who retained the SS for 48 years
Known ownership history from new equating to just five keepers
A pleasingly original example which is offered with a large history file
Entered from a significant private collection
The very first model to carry the Jaguar name, the SS Jaguar 2½ Litre Sports Saloon was launched at the Mayfair Hotel, London in September 1935. Styled by William Lyons, the four-light design featured a higher belt line and lower roof line than many of its contemporaries which together with voluptuous wings and plentiful brightwork lent the newcomer a distinctly rakish air. Asked to speculate on the Jaguar’s prospective asking price, the assembled journalists came up with an average guess of £632 and were thus somewhat taken aback when Lyons revealed that he intended to market the 1936 model-year machine for just £395. The modest sum was all the more surprising given that a conversion to overhead valve gear, courtesy of consultant engineer Harry Weslake, had seen engine power jump by almost fifty percent to 102bhp. More labour intensive than their successors, the 1936 model-year 2½ Litre Saloons were coachbuilt in the traditional manner with steel bodywork over an ash frame and incorporated a host of detail differences including a bespoke windscreen design. Short lived, they also shared a high degree of commonality with the iconic SS100 sports car.
Manufactured new in 1937, the SS Jaguar offered was supplied new to the United Kingdom by Henly’s of Piccadilly to a Mr Worricker, being registered new on the 15th of June that year. Finished in complementary Black paintwork, ‘DYM 180’ pleasingly retains its original interior trimmed in Dark Blue leather, as well as what are thought to be the original instruments, tool kit and sunroof. Mr Worricker remained the custodian of the SS Jaguar for almost fifty years, owning chassis number ‘13342’ until 1985. Ownership thereafter passed to the garage that had maintained the SS Jaguar since the 1950s, before the next owner acquired the Jaguar in 1990, and set about gradually restoring the car. The previous custodians purchased ‘DYM 180’ in 2005 and thoroughly enjoyed the Saloon, taking part in Jaguar Driver’s Club events including the 2010 75th Anniversary drive from Coventry to Goodwood, as well as many local rallies and gatherings, before selling the ‘DYM 180’ into the significant private collection it resides in currently.
Accompanied by a large history file includes a previous JDC valuation of £62, 000, together with the V5C registration certificate, a schedule of basic costs and repairs since 1991 (totalling £8, 600), correspondence, a quantity of invoices, previous MOT certificates and road tax discs, and photocopies of old registration documents, as well as sales brochures, road test reports, a Shell Lubrication Servicing Guide and a Jaguar Heritage Certificate. Apparently, around just seventy examples of the SS Jaguar 2. 5 Litre Saloon remain in existence in various states of repair, making the model even rarer than the SS100, making this incredibly low ownership example, one not to be missed!
