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James Bond Jaguar Question

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CinneaghTR

CinneaghTR

Jedi Warrior
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Just finished reading Ian Fleming's Diamonds are Forever (1956) and a couple of the bad guys from the Detroit Purple Mob drive an "old sports model Jag with a rumble seat" (pg 155, 2012 Thomas and Mercer edition). Would anyone care to guess the model? It would be "low slung," have a fold down windshield, and easily-missed front wings. ;)

Any insight from the Jag experts would be a great help!
 
Looking through the archive of history, even Swallows had sidecars not rumble seats. The early SS1s had a boot extended out the rear of the main body which resembled a Ford rumble seat. Even the SS100 rear only had a spare tyre carrier and the rear area behind the seats was for the top. So, with Ian being a lad from London, he may have at one time saw an altered body ( which was known back in the SS1 times ) and construed it to his books. Nevertheless, they were never brought to the screen. The Mark series of Jaguars would really have to be altered for a rumble. Unless he pictured a 2+2 with back seat, a rumble seat, having maybe never seeing the Fords or Chevys from the 30s.
 
LarryK said:
Looking through the archive of history, even Swallows had sidecars not rumble seats. The early SS1s had a boot extended out the rear of the main body which resembled a Ford rumble seat. Even the SS100 rear only had a spare tyre carrier and the rear area behind the seats was for the top. So, with Ian being a lad from London, he may have at one time saw an altered body ( which was known back in the SS1 times ) and construed it to his books. Nevertheless, they were never brought to the screen. The Mark series of Jaguars would really have to be altered for a rumble. Unless he pictured a 2+2 with back seat, a rumble seat, having maybe never seeing the Fords or Chevys from the 30s.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Larry. What would be a good example of a Mark series 2+2? Evidently, there was enough room for a villain and a set of golf clubs in the "rumble" seat. Fleming is pretty detailed about his cars, but also would not let them get in the way of a good story, too. I'm not looking for an exact car anyway. I would like to get in the ballpark just to see what the car might have been.
 
I think Ian Fleming would have known what a Rumble Seat was - he'd spent time in the US during WW2, and would surely have seen a few inter-war British cars with rumble seats, or even the post-war Triumph Roadsters that had them.
A Jaguar that was old in 1956, fitting the description, must have been a pre-war SS, some of which were 4-seaters, though not with a rumble seat.

(I meant to write all this earlier, but posted an abridged version. Sorry, finger-fumbles again.)
 
https://www.jag-lovers.org/early2.html
"The early coupe had helmet style front fenders (wings) with no running boards, rather cramped rear seats, a leather covered roof with non-functional landau bars (pram irons) on the sides thus no side windows for the rear seat passengers, and an optional rumble seat (dickey seat). Hmm, would that make it a six-seater sports car?"
 
I did not mean a Mark series of Jags as 2+2. Only the XKE had a 2+2. I was assuming that an over zealous Brit had modified one of the Marks IV-IX ( or butchered ) to make a rumble seat. I really do not think the English weather was up to a rumble seat or mother-in-law seat as the US. Bad enough sometimes for the Roadsters in the misty cold balmy weather. I can't imagine an English Londoner getting the Jags screwed up. I guess it was all in the storys.
 
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