Jackie Shroff is adored by his fans for his acting skills and good looks. A former model and an incredible actor, he is still remembered for his awe inspiring performances in Ram Lakhan, Hero, Khalnayak, Devdas, and so many others. Apart from acting, the actor also holds strong affinities for film production and cars. He holds an acquired taste for vintage cars and owns a 1939 SS Jaguar 100. A royalty under the category of celebrity cars, it is a single 100 model to exist in India till date.
Though the craze for Jaguar cars in India is an infinite one, but owning a 1939 SS jaguar 100 – it’s a fact worth mentioning. It is actually a 2-seat British sports car that went under production from 1936 -1940. The ‘100’ here reflects its maximum theoretical speed i.e. 100mph which was a maximum in those times. Adoption of animal names was a common practice in 1930s and that’s how the prefix ‘Jaguar’ got attached with 100.
During that era, SS Jaguar 100 was aesthetically one of the most pleasant cars in the world. It leaped over roads over an 8-feet 8” wheelbase empowered by a modified 3.5-litre Stanford pushrod. This engine delivered a power output of 125bhp. The mill gladly melded with a 4-speed transmission box to attain a top speed of 100mph. it was a limited edition car with 2 different power mills – 2.5-litre and 3.5-litre engines. The British carmaker manufactured only 198 units of the 2.5-litre model while the 3.5-litre version ad only 116 units.
In 1939, Jaguar 100 price stood at a mere figure of £395-445 while the present day price ranges from £300, 000 to £666, 270. It’s a classic masterpiece that could never found a befitting match after 1940. A number of manufacturers tried to produce its replicas and re-creations but none succeeded in garnering the level of affection it received.
