Jaguar might have pulled out of international motorsport in the mid ’50s, but with privateer teams competing with the E-Type soon after its debut in early 1961
Not only was this 1961 E-Type the first open-two-seater to feature factory seat belt mountings but it was later transformed into an evocation of the rare Lightweight model.
If you’re not a slave to originality, the Series 3 E-Type has massive potential. We sample one man’s vision of a sharper V12 with input from some famous Jaguar names.
When Darren and Lucy Arnold bought an early E-type 20 years ago, they didn’t know the car had a fascinating motorsport pedigree. We investigate the newly restored car’s past.
This car was one of the first Jaguar E-types Britain saw, be it in action at Shelsley Walsh, or as Browns Lane’s local demonstrator. Today we drive it.
The title of Autocar magazine’s article in October 1967 said it all: ‘Bertone-Jaguar: no dream car – but not for you and me’. This one-off gran turismo wasn’t the first Bertone-bodied Jaguar, witness the Franco Scaglione-styled XK150 and Marcello Gandini-designed ‘FT’ that was based variously on S-type and 420 saloon foundations for Italy’s marque concessionaire, Ferruchio Tarchini. However, in this particular instance, there was no intention of making the Pirana in even the most limited of numbers. It was a concept queen, and a compelling one.
Wanting an E-type for sprints and hill climbs, Darren Tyre has transformed a lowmileage Series 2 fixedhead coupe into a fast, unique and well-developed racer
It was a car that was literally and figuratively created by accident. Guyson International MD, Jim Thompson, was a keen hillclimb racer. However, for all his apparent skill behind the wheel, even he couldn’t stop his V12 Jaguar E-type from connecting with something immovable one dark and stormy night in 1973.
Which do we think is the best Sixties coupe out of an iconic E-type 4.2 and an equally famous Aston Martin DB6 4.0? There's only one way to find out and that's to drive these two beautiful British sports cars side-by-side.
What is an early E-type like to use on a regular basis and can the flaws of the day be seen as charms today? Jim Patten swaps his 4.2 roadster for a 3.8 with a roof for a road trip.
It might be one of most important Jaguars ever built, but the career of 9600 HP hasn’t all been about fame and fortune. Richard Gunn tells the tale of the rise, fall and rise again of the world’s oldest E-Type FHC.
