Of Jaguars, Swallows and the Lost 4-Cylinder

Before WWII, the company which became Jaguar was called Swallow Sidecars and it had diversified into making special bodies for cars, most notably for Austin Sevens. A Swallow body added about 15% to the cost of an Austin Seven, but was worth much more in street cred. In the 2018 movie, โ€œMary Poppins Returnsโ€ there is a standard Austin parked near the home of the Banksย family but as theย supercalifragilisticexpialidocious one flies off at the end, the Seven has a Swallow body. Gawd bless yew, Mary Poppins.

A Swallow-bodied Austin Seven. Photo: Jaguar

SS cars benefited from the styling genius of the founder, William Lyons, but were limited by bought-in chassis and engines. Many regarded them as All Show, No Go. Among their nicknames was โ€œWardour Street Bentley.โ€ Wardour Street in London’s Soho district was home to theatre agents, movie companies, and the like. Lyons decided to make a car that would surpass any Bentley which at the time made sports saloons.

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