1938 Jaguar SS100 3.5 litre Roadster

The Jaguar SS 100 was one of the first cars to bear the Jaguar name, although at the time it was just a nameplate. It wouldn’t become the corporation’s brand name until after World War II. But more important, it was the car that elevated the parent company from relative obscurity—just one of many small-volume British carmakers struggling in near anonymity—to a purveyor of some of the most stirring sports cars of the pre-WWII era. Unveiled at the 1937 London Auto Show, the 3.5-litre SS 100 quickly demonstrated its upgraded performance in a variety of competitive venues, including Brooklands, the Alpine Trials and the Welsh, RAC and Monte Carlo rallies. In all, 190 2.5 SS 100s left the Coventry works; 3.5-litre production reached 118 cars before the Coventry works was changed over to military work, making aircraft components.