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With a handful of employees, production
commenced. Pioneering the use of aluminium, the very stylish sidecars
were immediately popular and production expanded rapidly. Then in 1927
Herbert Austin introduced his baby car, the famous Austin Seven.
Intended to bring motoring to the masses, the tiny Sevens were cheap,
easy to drive, reliable, but lacked individuality.
Lyons saw
another opportunity. He created a most stylish two-seater body which
was mounted on the Austin Seven chassis. An order for 500 was obtained
from one of the main London garages and production commenced. The
splendid little Austin Seven Swallow proved most popular and the
company introduced a Swallow body for the larger Morris Cowley chassis.
The range then increased significantly with the introduction of the
Austin Seven Swallow Saloon, late 1928. Such features as the polished
radiator cowl and Ladies Companion Set elevated the Swallows above the
average.
With sales of the cars and sidecars continuing to
increase, it was decided to move to the Midlands, traditional heartland
of the british motor industry. Thus, the young company was moved 'lock,
stock and barrel' to Coventry. In 1931 the Standard 16 hp six-cylinder
Enfield chassis received the Swallow treatment and this introduced the
company to the 2054 cc sidevalve engine, which admirably suited Lyons
and Walmsley's purpose for the next ambitious step forward. The Swallow
company had now been in existence for a year short of a decade and it
had been an exciting time of steady expansion and sound success. But
the ambitious Lyons was far from satisfied and a further bold step
forward was needed.
William Lyons was not content to merely build bodies on other people's
chassis. This constrained his creative desires and equally restricted
him to products which were stolid rather than sporting. He arranged for
the Standard Motor Company to build a chassis to Swallow's design but
fitted with Standard engines. The SS I and SS II Coupés were duly
presented at the 1931 London Motor Show, and sensation they certainly
caused. The body was ultra low and the bonnet outrageously long. It
had, stated the press, the £1,000 look, yet was priced at a very modest
£310.
Lyons
was almost obsessive about making his cars as low as possible. By
moving the engine further back in the chassis than was normal practice
and by mounting the road springs alongside, Lyons was able to achieve
this long, low, sporting appearance. In July 1933 the SS I Tourer
joined the Coupé, and apart from being the first open SS model, the
significance of the Tourers was that they were the first to be entered
in a serious competitive event. A team of three Tourers were entered in
the 1933 Alpine Trial in mainland Europe and the following year they
enhanced the SS name very considerably, taking the team prize on this
particularly tough event. And from then on the legacy of Jaguar remains. |
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