All about SWALLOW
Born: 1922
Nationality: British
On his 21st birthday, William Lyons and his friend William Walmsley went into partnership in Blackpool to form the Swallow Sidecar Company, to develop a further business based on Walmsley's enterprise of reconditioning war-surplus Triumph motorcycles. Four years later, in 1926, business had increased so much that they had to move from their original premises. In the process, they changed the name to the Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company.
The following year the company moved into car making, building a two-seater based on the Austin Seven and named the Austin Swallow. It was very successful and in 1928 the company moved again, relocating to Coventry where there was a greater pool of skilled engineering labour.
The first Swallow four-seaters were built in 1929, using Fiat chassis, and after that Lyons moved to underpinnings from Standard and Swift. In every case, the Swallow cars were much more interesting and stylistically appealing than the vehicles on which they were based.
William Lyons had a dream of building a car that was completely his own design, and in 1931 he commissioned a special chassis from Standard and on this the company built the first SS1. It was distinguished by its very low-slung body and strongly-styled domineering looks. The engines were also made by Standard, and over the five-year life of the SS1, power units included 2.1, 2.2, 2.6 and 2.7-litre six-cylinder variants. It came in coupé and saloon versions, as well as a drop-head and a streamlined variant called the Airline. A key reason for the success of the early cars was the competitive price and superior performance against its peers. The SS1 prompted an interest for a smaller car, and in 1933 Lyons brought out the SS2 which was available in coupé, saloon and tourer versions with a choice from 1.0, 1.3 and 1.6-litre Standard four-cylinder engines.
The next distinct model was the SS90, a two-seater open car distinguished by its sweeping front and rear fenders linked by an integral running board and powered by a 2.7-litre six-cylinder engine. But doomed to be a commercial failure, it was quickly superceded in 1936 by the SS Jaguar 100, essentially the forerunner of the post-war cars that were to become known solely as Jaguars.
Again, Standard built the engines, in 2.7 and 3.5-litre sizes, to the direction of Swallow's new chief engineer William Heynes. It is noticeable that this model changed the designation to "SS" without the full stops after the letters. Also, though probably coincidentally, the "SS" emblem was oddly similar to that of the infamous Nazi stormtroopers. In 1938, the car was simply listed as the Jaguar 100. Production ceased in 1940. And when William Lyons restarted car building after the war with his XK120, his company was now the Jaguar Car Company.
But the Swallow name continued in a different way, following the purchase of the name and goodwill from SS Cars Ltd by aircraft servicing company, the Helliwell Group. That company continued sidecar production to the original format, and also produced a scooter, the Swallow Gadabout, which in 1946 predated the Vespas and similar machines of a decade later. The Gadabout was designed by Frank Rainbow at the instigation of Helliwells MG Eric Saunders, and was powered by Villiers engines.
In 1954, Swallow went back into car building with the Frank Rainbow-designed Swallow Doretti, aimed at picking up on the market being created by the Austin-Healey 100.
The Doretti had a tubular chassis with suspension components from Triumph's TR2 and a 2-litre engine. It was well-built and priced at the upper end of its market, but suffered from having a very old-fashioned interior. Production was ceased suddenly in 1955.
BEST CAR: Probably considered to be the SS Jaguar 100 (pictured), but the 1930 Standard Swallow coupé is quite gorgeous.
WORST CAR: Widely accepted as the SS90 before it was transformed into the SS100.
WEIRDEST CAR: What about the Gadabout Commercial? ...