Jaguar World – July 2019

58 |JaguarWorld/July 2019

CLASSICDRIVE

SUFFOLKSS 100

Period-correct‘owlface’rearlightis

fittedoneachside.Theoriginalshad

justoneontheoffside

hadthesurrealexperienceofJapanese

touristsappearingoutofnowhereona

Tuscanhillsidewhenwestoppedtoadmire

theview,drapingthemselvesoverthe

bonnetforaphotoandthendrivingoff.”

Nowinhismid-70s,Butchislooking

foranotherchallenge,andhasinstructed

SuffolkSportscarstomarkethisSS 10 0.

WhenIarriveattheSuffolkworkshops,it

isdifficulttotellwhichcarIamtodrive.

Freshlyfinishedorused,theyalllook

perfect.Today,though,itistheGunmetal

example,andIfinditdifficulttobelieve

thatthiscarwasbuiltalmost 15 yearsago,

andhasbeendrivenandenjoyedeversince.

Thereisn’tamarkanywhere.Ialsocan’t

seeanyflawsintheseats,whichmighthave

beenexpectedgiventhemileage.But,then,

33,000milesisn’tmuchforausedJaguar.

Yet,thisisn’talarge-scalemajor

manufacturerandwasn’tevenassembled

attheSuffolkfactory,butputtogether

byanenthusiast.WhenIamshownthe

buildmanualandthehelpoffered,it’sno

surprisethattheresultsarenothingshort

ofamazing.Evenso,theownerhaskepthis

carinimpeccablecondition.

Thedrivingpositionisjustthesameasin

everyoriginalcarIhavedriven,thefeeling

enhancedbyinstrumentsthatcouldhave

comefrom 19 35.Withabluescripton

creambackground,setagainstthemachined

aluminiumdash,theyscreamauthenticity.

TheVSE-rebuiltenginestarts

immediatelyandmyhandfallstothe

gearlever,withitspolishedaluminiumknob

–Ifinditiseasiertoreachandoperate

thanthosehailingfromtheThirties.Clutch

operationislightandweheadouttothe

narrowlanesofSuffolk.We’reonthose

delightfultwistiesthattheSuffolkSSwas

almostmadefor.Aswouldbeexpected

fromtheJaguarall-synchromeshgearbox,

thechangeisswiftandpleasant.

Theengineitselfpacksquiteapunch,

whichcoupledwiththecar’slowweight,

meansperformanceisimpressive.With

standardXJcalipersall-round,brakingis

neveraconcern.Likewise,withtheXJbased

suspension.Myonlyreservationrelatestothe

limitationsofthetyres.Wouldthoseskinny

18 indiameterwheelsbeabletocopewith

thepower?Theanswerisarealsurprise,

becauseithandlesverywellandatnotime

lookslikeputtingawheeloutofstep.

ContentthatthedynamicsofthisSS

10 0areworkinginharmony,Irelaxand

enjoythedriveandtheviewahead,which

isincredible–somanylouvresalong

thealuminiumbonnet,whichfinishes

justbehindthemostimpressivechrome

radiatorgrille.Icanjustseethetopsofthe

stainlesssteelType 40 headlights,standing

proudoneachside.

Thhhedddrivingexperienceisamixofffolllddd

andnew.It’saneasycartodriveand

withthesublimeIRSandXJ-basedfront

suspensionitrideswell.Butthereisalso

enoughofavintagefeeltoblendwiththe

shape.Ourroutetakesinsomefastdual

carriagewaywhereIcanstretchitslegsand

engageoverdrive.Itisatthispointthat

Ireallyfeelthewindblastandwishfor

thedeflectorsthatarebackatbase.But

itcertainlydoesn’tdiminishthefun,and

cruisingatthelegallimitiseffortless.

Icanunderstandtheappealofthese

cars–somehaveevenbeensoldtoowners

oftherealthing–asitisanopportunity

tovisitapreviouserawithoutthehassle:

modern-dayreliabilityinanolden-day

bubble.Rose-tintedglassesarenot

necessarytofulfilthisdream,justthe

willingnesstotakealeapoffaith.

WhileaSuffolkSportscars’SS 10 0may

notbeabudgetcartheyarepopular,and

withthatcomesastabilityofvalues.This

exampleistriedandtested,and,what’s

more,itisavailablenow.Butchhasdone

thehardworkandheencouragesthenext

keepertoexperiencethethrillofownership

andtocreatetheirownmemories.JP

Thanksto:SuffolkSportscarsLtd

(www.suffolksportscars.com).Interested

partiesshouldcall 07967339424

TourtoNew

Zealandin 2006

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