MODEL HISTORY

When the Jaguar E-type was launched in 1961, it offered an intoxicating blend of performance and style, and at a much lower price than the few cars that could match it in either area. It was the same formula with which the marque had stunned the motoring world when it introduced the XK 120 in 1948, but the E-type's fame spread even further than its illustrious predecessor thanks to its status as an icon of the Swinging Sixties.

Aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer came up with one of the most beautiful automotive shapes ever realised, and at a time when 100mph was still a significant figure, the E-type offered 150mph performance from its triple-carburettor, 265bhp, 3.8-litre straight-six engine.

Beneath the skin, it owed much to the Le Mans-winning D-type. It used a monocoque centre section with a subframe carrying the engine and front suspension. At the rear, independent suspension was fitted at a time when many of Jaguar's rivals still employed a traditional live axle. The marque had pioneered the use of disc brakes in the 1950s, and the E-type featured them on all four wheels.

'Driving the car is more like flying than motoring,' wrote John Langley in the Daily Telegraph. 'On the M1 I found the car would cruise smoothly and quietly at 110-120mph. Bursts of acceleration rushed it up to just over 140mph on two occasions.'

In Autosport, John Bolster added the following: 'It has a sheer beauty of line which easily beats the Italians at their own particular game.'

The E-type was offered as both a Roadster and a Fixed-Head Coupe, and in late 1964 the 3.8-litre engine was enlarged to 4.2 litres. At the same time, Jaguar's own all-synchromesh four-speed gearbox replaced the original Moss unit.

A long-wheelbase 2+2 model was added to the range in 1966, before the heavily revised Series 2 was introduced in 1968.

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