Description
Source: Pendine
1937 SS JAGUAR 100 2.5 LITRE
2004 Pebble Beach Award Winner, Meticulously Restored By Terry Larson
Sold new to Swiss Olympic bobsleigh champion, Hans Aichele
Meticulously restored by Terry Larson
2004 Pebble Beach award winner
This beautifully presented example of perhaps Britain’s most recognizable sports car of the late 1930s spent its early life at the heart of Swiss professional and sporting life. The reputed first owner took delivery from London distributor Henlys early in the summer of 1937, and one can imagine the excitement of driving his new SS 100 Jaguar home to his native Switzerland. Hans Aichele was something of an adventurous speed addict anyway. He took part in the 1936 Winter Olympics in the four-man bobsleigh competition, and scooped the silver medal.
Swiss records show the car was registered to him in Zürich on 1 July 1938. Chassis number 18102, this was the 2.5-litre model, the Standard-based engine featuring the Weslake conversion to overhead-valve configuration that was a key part of the transformation of SS’s when they adopted the Jaguar name for the first time in 1935.
Records suggest he retained the S.S. Jaguar until 2 April 1954 when ownership of the SS passed to a Zürich-born graphic designer named Paul Staub, and by February of 1956 the two-seater was acquired by another Swiss aesthete, architect Daniel Reist of Mauri in Berne. Mr Reist’s custodianship was a lengthy one, lasting 25 years, during which it’s thought he undertook a change in paint colour from gunmetal grey to dark green. In 1982 the car was the subject of a deal between Oldtimer Garage of Berne and Coys of Kensington in London, and thus the fourth owner in 1982, Peter Tacon, became the first one from the car’s land of origin. Slightly confusingly, Mr Tacon’s quest for an age-appropriate registration number was all too successful; it ended up carrying the plates once worn by another SS 100, chassis 49035 built in 1938.
These SS 100s have long been in high demand all over the world, and by 1993 this one was resident in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA with Nancy Huntsman.
After one more change of ownership, the current owner entrusted the SS 100 to US expert Terry Larson so that it could undergo the very best possible restoration in the hands if his experienced team.
At the 50th Anniversary SS 100 rally in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire in 1986, this car won first prize in the concours d’elegance for its then owner Peter Tacon, so evidently it was in exceptional outward shape. However, once restored fully by Larson and his craftsmen, the car was taken to a whole new level. At Pebble Beach in 2004, it took the second prize in the European Sportscars Pre War class, followed by a first in the pre-war class at the 2006 British Classic Cars Meeting in St. Moritz. In April 2007, the SS 100 was also exhibited to great acclaim at the Villa d’Este concours at Lake Como, Italy, and its magnificent condition today remains unchanged since then.
Source: Ultimate Car Page
Photo: original-18102-01
Registration: FUM877
Source: Classic Driver
St Moritz: 17th British Classic Car Meeting 2010
Taking place from 9 to 11 July, the 17th British Classic Car Meeting in St. Moritz is looking forward to welcoming more cars than ever before, with a line-up of over 200 rare classics, such as this very beautiful 1937 Jaguar SS100, chassis number 18102, built at the SS works in Foleshill, Coventry.
This SS100 has enjoyed a particularly colourful life, with a succession of equally colourful owners. The first owner acquired it from Henlys, the appointed dealer, transported it to Canton Zurich and registered it for the road in 1938 – but after the War, the car came into the possession of well-known architect Daniel Reist, from Muri near Bern. Remarkably, it served Reist as his company car for 26 years, reliably transporting him from building site to building site.
In 1982, our Jaguar returned to England, from there to travel to the USA in 1993. Here it was bought by ‘adventurer’ Bernie Keiser, who had it totally restored by well-known Jaguar expert, Terry Larson from Arizona.
Back then, the intrepid Keiser was hunting for a trove of buried treasure on an island off Peru, as one does. While he didn’t find the hidden silver, he did find a young Peruvian girl, who became his new love. Hence Terry Larson received the assignment from Keiser’s now ex-wife to sell the ‘100’ – and Dr. Christian J. Jenny became the proud new owner.
After Jenny and his Jaguar won second prize in the European pre-War sports car category at the 2004 Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, he brought the car back to Switzerland at the beginning of 2005… and hence it will be driven at the 2010 St. Moritz British Classic Car Meeting (BCCM).
Other classics to grace the BCCM will include a rare 1930 Blower Bentley and no fewer than five 1955 Austin-Healey 100S Sebrings, a 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Speedster, a 1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP Saloon, a 1935 Riley Racing Six Special, a 1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide, a 1947 Alvis TA 14 ‘Woody’ shooting brake and a 1960 Aston Martin DB4.
See www.bccm-stmoritz.ch.
Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: BCCM
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