I have never really been a big fan of the chromed mesh grills and, to me, the bigger they are the more obnoxious they look (think Chrysler 300). Anyway, I have accepted the fact that these are now de rigueur to show that your car has oomph.

I know that Jaguar first had these back in 1998 (I believe) with the introduction of the XKR but my question is whether or not Jaguar was the first manufacturer to have a mesh grill on a production car?

Doug

 

I believe there were a few option packages for muscle cars in the '60s that had mesh grills. When I get a chance later I will do a little research.

 

I found that the production 1937 Morgan 4/4s came with mesh grilles:
The wire mesh radiator grille was standard until late 1938, but available as optional equipment until WWII. The image (and other great images) can be found @ http://www.britishracecar.com/Carlto...-Morgan-44.htm . I am sure there is something earlier but as far as mass production goes I think this may be the earliest. Even though I don't consider Morgans mass production there were certainly more of them produced than Bugattis.

 

I think Bentley is one of the first "mesh users" in the car history . At least they used mesh earlier than Jaguar or Swallow Side Cars

 

You are correct! 1921-30 Bentley 3 litre, below from http://rrab.com. I think the early (1907) Rolls Royce may have had a mesh grille too. I am trying to confirm but cannot find a good picture. Note that a lot of early pre-war cars seem to have some sort of mesh grill: Mercedes Simplex, etc.. But it appears that Bentley was the first to consistently use it and in fact is part of it's branding. (seems like an obvious answer now)

 

That's interesting. When I was thinking about this I was not considering the 1930s era but, rather, more recent vintage. A lot of things go in and out of style and regarding the latest resurgence of the mesh grill, I still think that the XKR was one of the earliest for this iteration.

Doug

 

One of the earliest reiterations yes, but It appears Bentley reintroduced the mesh on the 1991 Bentley "Continental R"

 

Thanks. I had a suspicion that it might have been Bentley but I did not realize they had this in the very early 1990s.

Doug

 

There was also an option for the 80s Bentley for a mesh grill.