When it was introduced in 1961, the Jaguar E-Type once again captured the title of the fastest production car in the world, a title previously held by the XK120. A clean sheet design, drawing from the influences of Jaguar’s C and D-Type race cars, though still utilizing the XK engine which debuted in 1948 in the XK120, its aerodynamic shape was penned by Malcolm Sayer, heavily influenced by his understanding of aerodynamics from when he worked for the Bristol Aeroplane company during World War 2. The car featured fully independent suspension with torsion bar suspension in the front tied to a tubular frame that the engine and bonnet mounted to, which then bolted to a unitary body, comprising of the passenger compartment and boot. The Rear suspension mounted into a modular cage, utilizing the U Jointed axle shafts as one of the suspension arms which went on to become as defining a feature of later Jaguars as the use of the XK engine itself. In all the E-Type was sold in three series, as an open two seater, and a coupe, with a 2+2 coupe added as an option in 1966. First series cars were originally fitted with the final iteration of the 3.8 liter XK engine as found in the XK150S, fitted with three 2 inch SU carburettors, putting out 265 horsepower, which was later upgraded to the new 4.2 liter displacement in 1964, but with the same horsepower output. This was coupled with a redesign of the interior and other minor changes. The series 1 were phased out of production in 1967 and replaced by the new Series 2 cars in 1968 which were significantly modified to meet new US safety and emissions standards. This car was a running and driving but very worn out and poorly maintained example when I acquired it. Immediately upon my acquisition, the car was turned over to Vintage Underground Restorations in Eugene, Oregon to be disassembled and completely restored from the ground up. Significant work went into fixing a range of issues with the bodywork due to accident damage, rust, etc. All components were stripped down, disassembled, cleaned, refinished, and/or replaced. Hardware was cleaned stripped and replated for reuse and the car received a first class paint job, new interior, and a careful and detailed reassembly into a top quality example. Although the goal was to get the car as correct as possible in the restoration, that was secondary to ensuring that the car ran and drove as well as, or better than it did when new. Being an early example, made shortly after the introduction of the dropped floors, there are details on this car common with all the very early cars which differ from those made shortly afterwards and we made every effort to keep as many of those details in place as possible. These cars are fantastic to drive, with great acceleration, excellent handling and very comfortable seating positions. The only real downside with the Series 1 E-Types is they are prone to running warm due to limited air flow through the small mouth on the front of the car making them a poor choice for very hot weather. This was addressed to some extent on later series of the cars but the purity and elegance of the first series design makes them in many ways the more desirable car to have.
