The Jaguar E Type

The Jaguar E Type is a British sports car that was produced by the company Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. It was designed by Malcolm Sayer and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever built.

Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, it was a successor to the XK120 and the redesigned version of the famous D-Type racing car. The E-Type was intended to be the first of a new generation of Jaguars with monocoque construction and a fully independent rear suspension. This link

After the success of the D-Type racers at Le Mans and Sebring Jaguar management wanted to use a similar design to build a road going sports car to replace the XK150. This resulted in two concept designs called E1A and E2A which differed in that both used a steel chassis but the former was constructed from aluminium body panels.

E1A was a two seat convertible with a short wheelbase. It was powered by a 3 litre version of the well proved XK engine.

Owning a Jaguar E-Type: A Dream Come True

A number of prototypes were made and some of these were later converted to coupe form by replacing the original soft top with a hardtop. These are a very rare option and can be expensive to find in good condition.

During the production of the E-Type there were three distinct versions of the car, which are now referred to as Series 1 through 3. There was also a transitional series called “Series 1 1/2” between Series 1 and 2. This was not officially part of the series but was produced right at the end of Series 1. These cars were fitted with glass-covered headlights, a small mouth opening at the front, signal lights and tail-lights above bumpers and exhaust tips under the licence plate in the rear. These are considered to be amongst the rarest E-Types in existence.