1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 1

The Jaguar E-Type is widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful cars ever built and in the 1960’s it must have seemed out of this world.

Launched at the 1961 Geneva Motorshow the E-Type was an instant global sensation with sporting lines aerodynamically formed in the same fashion as fighter planes, a screaming 150mph top speed all with a price tag that didn’t break the bank.

On its release Enzo Ferrari himself famously quoted the Jaguar E-Type to be “The most beautiful car ever made” and surpassed most top 100 lists for many decades.

The all-new Jaguar XKE-series design owed that to the incredibly successful racing D-Type. It was built around a monocoque tub forming the main structure with a tubular spaceframe extended forwards to support the legendary 3.8 litre triple SU carburetted 265hp inline six-cylinder motor.

Offered is this unique series 1 flatfloor E-Type which has been masterfully restored to the creative mind of its current owner. Together with the brilliant craftsman of Classic Auto Metal in Tasmania, the owner and builder worked closely together to create something very special that allowed the wonderful design and engineering of the E-Type to be liberated without steering too far from the originality of Coventry’s work.

Every nut and bolt were removed to be restored or replaced. The motor totally stripped down and built to standard factory specifications and the conversion to RHD carried out correctly, all stretched over 2 years with 3 experts at it every day. The owner speaks of the great relationship made with the builders and how minds naturally gelled on ideas and decisions, a wonderful journey for all involved.

Spicing up the E-Type to enrich the driving experience, upgrades and minor modifications were completed. The moss gearbox was replaced with a synchro-mesh 5-speed from BMW to allow for confident and spirited driving. Assisting the mechanical steering rack in dancing the car around corners hidden is an electric motor and supporting the sportscar chassis are adjustable coil-over suspension units on all four corners which then sat on custom English built and hand made larger spoke wheels which wrapped series 2 vented rotors on the rear, cross-drilled vented discs on the front and Wilwood 4-pot brake calipers. The body was marginally flared to allow for the lower stance and larger spoke wheels. A full exhaust system from Scotland was handmade which allows the E-Type to speak out its individuality.

The Exterior paint, a fine metallic deep blue together with a metallic silver hardtop just beauftully matches the burnt orange leather & stainless steel cheque plate interior perfectly finishing off the energetic spirit.

A lovely hard back book was put together illustrating the intense restoration through over 40 pages of high-quality pictures, a gift from the team at Classic Auto Metal.

The Heritage Certificate also comes with the car which showing its production completion date of mid-November, 1961 for the American market. A tourist’s driver by the name of Mr G Crowder residing on the East Coast, took delivery at Jaguar Cars New York. The certificate also showcases that this flatfloor is the 119th built and is still a numbers matching car.

Also accompanying the car is the original manual and other paper work from old advertisements for this particular E-type to receipts showing the quarter of million dollars spent.

Just one glance of this masterpiece and you are totally hypnotised and captivated by its beauty, elegance but striking personality. This is a true celebration of classic sportscar engineering and the artistic world of design. A must for any collector or enthusiast driver.