E-type News
Jaguar Classic Challenge race announced for Le Mans
Jaguar has been synonymous with Le Mans since the marque’s string of victories in the 1950s, and examples of the Jaguar models that achieved those successes will return to La Sarthe in 2022 to participate in a special round of the Jaguar Classic Challenge in support of the 2022 Le Mans Classic extravaganza, which takes place from 30 June-3 July. Historic racing series organiser Motor Racing Legends has teamed up with Peter Auto – the promoter of the Le Mans Classic – to stage the 55-minute race, which will take place on the Saturday morning, with qualifying on the Friday morning. The race will be open to all models of Jaguar that could have been eligible for the Le Mans 24 Hours before 1966: XK 120, C-type, XK 140, D-type, XK 150 and E-type (pre-1966). The Le Mans race will form part of the Jaguar Classic Challenge series for pre-1966 Jaguar models, which includes rounds at Donington, Thruxton and Silverstone, with these races also open to Mk 1 and Mk 2 saloons.
Goodwood announces two new races for 79th Members’ Meeting
(image copyright Mike Cole)
Goodwood has announced two new races for the 79th Members’Meeting on 9-10 April. The inaugural A.F.P Fane and Robert Brooks Trophies will join returning favourites such as the Graham Hill Trophy and Peter Collins Trophy.
The A.F.P Fane Trophy is named after legendary Frazer Nash racer Alfred Fane Peers Agabeg, better known as A.F.P Fane, and will be a one-off race celebrating one of Britain’s oldest brands, with chain-driven Super Sports, Shelsley Single-Seaters and racing specials. The Robert Brooks Trophy is named in honour of Members’ Meeting stalwart and original Governor of the modern meetings, and it will recreate the club races of the Motor Circuit’s heyday with Lotus Elevens, Cooper T49s, Lola Mk1s and more taking to the grid.
E-types will feature in the Graham Hill Trophy, taking place over 45 minutes with a driver change, as they take on Cobras, Porsche 904s and Lotus Elans in what will doubtless be one of the most competitive and exciting races of the weekend.
The Peter Collins Trophy evokes the spirit of the Goodwood 9 Hour races of the 1950s and will close the Members’ Meeting weekend in style as the likes of C-types, D-types and DB3Ss do battle.
Eight E-types at NEC Classic Motor Show auction
Silverstone Auctions had eight E-types for sale at their NEC Classic Motor Show auction on 12-14 November in the E-type’s 60th anniversary year. Five were from the Devon Collection, including the 1961 ‘EBL’ Roadster, chassis number 850039, which sold for £297,000. Owned by the vendor for almost 45 years, it was sold with what was described in the catalogue as ‘a substantial quantity of paperwork and photographs documenting the extensive rebuild alongside its Heritage Certificate, handbooks, and other items of interest’.
A 1961 Series I 3.8 ‘flat floor’ Roadster from the same collection sold for £130,500. It was manufactured in September 1961 and dispatched in October to be supplied new in Rome by Fattori and Montani. Chassis 875594 returned to the UK in 2013, shortly after its restoration. The three other cars from the Devon Collection were a 1966 4.2 ‘quad-headlight’ Coupé (sold for £60,750), a 1962 Series I 3.8 Coupé (sold for £70,000) and a 1964 Series I 3.8 Coupé (sold for £60,750).
Making up the eight E-type sales were: a 1970 Series 3 (sold for £57,375), a 1973 Series 3 (sold for £72,000) and another 1961 matching numbers Series I 3.8 ‘flat floor’ Roadster (sold for £144,000).
Early US-spec SI OTS E-type owned by Gerhard Berger
While interviewing Gerhard Berger for my forthcoming charity book Drivers on Drivers, I discovered he is the owner of this early US-spec SI OTS E-type, which was found and restored for him by CMC. Gerhard is one of 30 very eminent racing drivers interviewed for the book – hopefully due out in late November – which will raise money for the charity Hope for Tomorrow, also our charity partners at E-type 60.
I first came across Hope for Tomorrow through my dear friend Stirling Moss, who was always very supportive, Chrissy Mills the founder being a great friend of Stirling and Susie’s. With Patrons Ross Brawn, Martin Brundle, Derek Bell and David Richards, there is no doubting the motorsport connection. Hope for Tomorrow is a dedicated charity, bringing cancer care closer to patients’ homes via Mobile Cancer Care Units (MCCUs) which they provide to NHS Trusts across the country. Each unit costs £198 per day to run.
Personal one-to-one care is the focus of nursing staff, creating a safe and secure environment which helps to reassure those receiving treatment.
The ‘Snetterton Survivor’ to be restored to former glory
Kent-based specialist E-type UK is beginning the extensive restoration of a Series I 4.2 Roadster that was damaged in a crash at Snetterton, Norfolk in 1965, and has remained unrepaired for over 40 years. Having rolled off the Browns Lane production line in December 1964, the car’s short but intense life was cut short just three months later during the incident at the Norfolk airfield circuit. Owned and driven by Yorkshire millionaire Tom Casson, the E-type crashed at high speed into a tyre wall. The damage remained largely cosmetic, with the side impact damaging numerous body panels, but most mechanical components were unharmed. The E-type remained in its ‘broken’ state throughout Casson’s ownership, with just 2,805 miles on the clock, before the car was sold in 1966.
The new owner retained the low mileage example for 40 years, not allowing the car to turn a wheel once throughout this period. Cosmetic repairs were applied, including a much-needed new door, floorpan, rear wing and sill – and a new bonnet was fitted.
During E-type UK’s restoration process, each part of the car will be stripped down, catalogued, and inspected for authenticity and integrity, the engine and original four-speed synchromesh gearbox rebuilt, and the car will receive a number of modern upgrades.
E-type Lightweight Continuation at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction
RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale on 12 August will include an E-type Lightweight continuation from Jaguar Classic. Carrying an estimate of $1,500,000-$1,850,000, chassis number S851001 was the first of the Lightweight E-type continuation cars that were built by Jaguar in 2014. Known as ‘Car 0’ and built for promotional purposes, it was followed by six others. It was used as the North American press car and afterwards returned to the factory, where it was rebuilt to ‘new’ condition before being delivered to its first owner. This will be the second time in less than 12 months that S851001 has appeared at auction – RM Sotheby’s offered the car at its Elkhart Collection sale in October 2020, when it sold for $1,710,000.The Lightweight E-type continuation cars were offered with a Crosthwaite & Gardiner-built 3.8-litre engine running on either fuel injection or triple Weber carburettors – S851001 is fitted with the latter. It’s not possible to register them for road use, so owners are limited to exercising them on-track. Also included in the sale catalogue will be a 1955 Jaguar D-type, with an estimate of $5,500,000 - $7,000,000. XKD530’s first owner was Kurt Lincoln, who raced it in Finland on road circuits and ice courses, and whose daughter Nina later married Jochen Rindt. Both cars will be sold from The Paul Andrews Estate Collection.
1962 competition E-type CUT 8 for sale through Fiskens
A significant historic competition E-type, CUT 8 will forever be associated with Dick Protheroe, who campaigned a series of CUT-plated modified Jaguars to great effect in period. Originally a dark green FHC race-prepared for BRDC life member Ed Nelson in 1965–66, chassis 860953 was registered 105 ENX and raced in ’66 at events as far afield as the Nürburgring and Mugello. The car was then sold to Rosemary Protheroe and designated CUT 8 as a tribute to her late husband, Dick Protheroe, who tragically paid the ultimate price aboard a Ferrari 330P at Oulton Park in 1966.
A racer herself, Rosemary met Dick at a race meeting and upon his passing became Managing Director of his Leicestershire garage. She resolved to go racing again, building CUT 8 with her late husband’s team. Resprayed in the Protheroe livery, 860953 gained a dry-sump 4.2 with wide-angle head and Webers and was re-registered CUT 8. Rhoddy Harvey Bailey and Ed Nelson campaigned the car for Rosemary Protheroe for two seasons before sale in 1968. It then raced in the early ’70s with Peter Walker in the Motoring News GT championship and the Cussons races.
More recently, CUT 8 has regularly appeared in historic racing since a first restoration in the early 1990s by John Lewis. Acquired by Peter Sugden in 1997 through Fiskens, the car was rebuilt to FIA spec and given a new Sigma powerplant. At the 2013 Goodwood Revival, CUT 8 made its latest debut in the RAC TT Celebration, restored to its striking period livery,and has appeared in the TT multiple times since.
Jaguar Heritage Certificates
Since 1931, details of every SS and Jaguar vehicle that has been produced have been recorded.
Initially in a bound ledger which was completed as a vehicle made its way down the production line; from the 1980s a computerised system to recording the same details. Learn more below.
E222 May 2023
Series 2 Roadster project car sells for £23,750
This 1969 US-specification Roadster ‘project’ car was sold by The Market by Bonhams in February. Originally supplied to the US, and finished in silver with a black interior, the car was brought to the UK in 2019.
The car was stripped down with a view to carrying out a full restoration, and a start was made, but the owner was unable to continue due to other commitments. The car is described as ‘99% complete’ in terms of components, and the body has been phosphate-stripped, with the shell braced to prevent distortion. New sills are required, and a replacement floorpan. The interior fixtures and fittings are thought to be complete and include the original air-conditioning unit. Retrimming of the seats will be required.
The engine is reported to be running and drivable, with twin Stromberg carburettors, and the engine frames are in very good condition, although a small repair is required to one of the frames.
The car was supplied with its handbook, plus a Production Record Trace Certificate from the Jaguar Heritage Trust. It also has its title from the State of Indiana.
Hopefully, the car’s new owner will be able to return it to its former glory and we will see the car back on the road in the not-too distant future.
E221 March 2023
US-specification 1967 4.2-litre Roadster sells for $114,800
At the Sotheby’s Phoenix, Arizona, auction on 26 January, a very late Series 1 (‘Series 1.25’) E-type Roadster with claimed original mileage of under 10,000 miles was sold. Equipped with uncovered headlights while maintaining the early E-type features of triple SU carburettors, toggle dash controls and above-the-bumper parking lights and tail-lights, the car was accompanied by an original window sticker, dealer invoice, owner’s manual and service documents dating from new. The car was also offered with a JDHT Certificate, tool roll, jack with bag and Thor knock-off hammer. The car’s first owner was Dean Edmunds, a physicist whose name appears on the Wall of Honor at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Mr. Edmunds would own the car for 54 years, completing just over 7,200 miles. In 2004, despite its low mileage, he commissioned a full restoration, including bare-metal repaint in factory-correct Opalescent Maroon, a full mechanical and electrical overhaul, and fitting of new carpets and convertible softtop, while retaining the original black leather seats. With an estimate of $150,000–180,000, and no reserve, the hammer eventually fell at $114,800.
E220 March 2023
A new E-type model for budding kit builders
Model brand Airfix has recently introduced a new E-type kit as a ‘starter set’. The 1/43-scale model is produced from new tooling, and is sold with cement, brush and four acrylic paints. The finished model is 104mm long, 39mm wide, and comprises 23 parts.
The car represented is left-hand drive – a Series I FHC, with paints supplied to finish the car in British Racing Green, with a tan interior and the registration plate ‘E-TYPE’. Although the model is clearly aimed at beginners, and does not compare to the long-produced Airfix 1/32-scale E-type (not currently available from Airfix), which has been sold in many different packages over the years, it still provides a good basis for more-experienced modellers to customise the model to their own requirements and colour scheme.
Interestingly, in recent years rival kit manufacturer Revell re-released its 1/24-scale E-type kits, in both Roadster and FHC form, and the company is planning to re-release its 1/8-scale kit of a Series 1 FHC (556mm long!) in limited-edition form in late 2023.
E219 February 2023
S3 V12 Roadster ‘UYP 694M’ sold by Hampsons Auctions at their 29 November 2022 Classics Auction at Holywell
This particular Series 3 V12 Roadster appears to have led a relatively quiet life, aside of its brief spell as a TV star when Del boy and Rodney borrowed it from their friend Boycie for a trip to the West End in sitcom Only Fools and Horses. First registered in November 1973, it is a home-market model finished in Old English White, trimmed in blue leather and riding on period-correct chrome wire wheels. Pre-auction, the odometer registered a very credible 80,075 miles from new, and the vendor considered its V12 engine, automatic transmission, bodywork, paintwork and upholstery to all be in ‘good’ order.
As you might imagine, this star car was accompanied by a host of TV-related memorabilia, including a number of videos, signed photographs and even a scale model of the Jaguar autographed by Del Boy (Sir David Jason) and Boycie (the late John Challis), while the underside of the car’s bootlid valso carries Boycie’s moniker. The car was inevitably crashed during the TV show – Series 1, Episode 2, although, of course, the accident was staged, and the car was not actually harmed.
The car fetched £102,375 inclusive of buyer’s premium. Lovely jubbly!
NEW E218 January 2023
Silverstone Auctions offers left-hand drive 1968 Series 2 4.2 Roadster for sale at Race Retro Classic and Competition Car Sale
The car will be offered at the Race Retro Show at Stoneleigh Park on 25 February, with a guide price of £75,000–£85,000. The car has matching numbers, has had one private owner from new, with 45,000 recorded miles.
According to the accompanying Heritage Certificate, the car was originally finished in Pale Primrose Yellow with a Black interior – the colour scheme in which it is presented today.
Manufactured on 22 August 1968, it was dispatched to Herrington Motors of Montgomery, New York State, and purchased by its first, and only, private owner, a Miss Sarah J Hammer. The car was used lightly for 17 years, covering only 45,000 miles in that time, until in 1985 a long-term illness prevented Miss Hammer from driving the E-type and it was put into storage. There it was to remain for the next 29 years...
E217 December 2022
Silverstone Auctions offers an ex-Stirling Moss and Win Percy 1965 Series 1 E-type Roadster ‘Semi-lightweight’ for sale
The car was offered in a sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show on 12 November, with a guide price of £120,000–£160,000. Chassis 1E11338, registered EOL 584C, with 13,000 miles recorded on the odometer, was converted to semi-lightweight specification by XK and E-type specialist, the late Jeremy Broad, who followed the specification of the two special-order Semi-lightweight cars constructed by Jaguar Works in 1964.
Purchased in 1991 by Graham Warwick, and registered in the Isle of Man as 1E MN, the car was entered in the 1991 Mountain Challenge – organised to celebrate the IoM Tourist Trophy and the 30th anniversary of the E-type – and driven by Stirling Moss. A decade later, the car was driven by Win Percy at Donington Park to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the E-type, 1E11338 going on to appear nationally and internationally, including an outing at the Jarama circuit in Spain.
The car’s current specification includes a 4.2-litre engine in fast-road tune, running on triple Webers, five-speed gearbox, a Power-Lock limited-slip differential, adjustable dampers, uprated springs, Safety Devices roll bar, vented boot, alloy radiator and header tank, internal rear-brake access panels and FIA-type foam-filled fuel tank.
A thorough mechanical overhaul and restoration work has been carried out, including fresh paint, while preserving the original 1991 Manx Mountain Challenge decals.
Classic Car Auctions offers S3 E-types
Classic Car Auctions (CCA) recently offered three S3 E-type Roadsters for sale at ‘buy-it-now’ prices from £54,950 to £79,950. The cars included: a 1972 Signal Red car with automatic transmission and 50,100 recorded miles, imported from the US in 2019 and offered for £54,950; another 1972 Signal Red left-hand-drive example with 61,548 miles, for £55,000; plus a 1974 UK right-hand-drive car with one owner from new, in Lavender Blue with 32,570 miles, for £79,950.
Additionally, CCA recently sold a freshly recommissioned Signal Red left-hand-drive 1971 S3 FHC with 57,357 miles on the clock for £47,250.
E215 October 2022
Fiskens handles sale of outstanding ex-Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours 1961 E-type
A splendidly preserved FIA GT-specification 1961 E-type, with remarkable period racing history is being offered for sale
through Fiskens.
The car’s period competition history includes appearances at the 1965, ’66, ’67, and ’68 Sebring 12 Hours, and 1967, ’68, and ’69 Daytona 24 Hours. Originally delivered new to Florida as a flat-floor coupé, chassis 885096 was rebuilt in period to FIA GT specification by long-term owner and privateer racer Richard Robson.
Following its final period competition appearance, at Daytona in 1969, the car was preserved and sealed in a garage for 37 years in the exact configuration in which it finished its last race, complete with race numbers.
Today, the car benefits from a recent restoration by specialists Valley Motorsport in 2019–20 and is race-ready with current FIA GT papers and semi-lightweight construction, featuring alloy block, bonnet, doors and boot-lid.
The car appeared at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours, and was a front runner in both the 2021 Goodwood Revival RAC TT and the 2022 Mugello Classic in Italy.
Important E-type Lightweight a highlight of Bonhams auction
At The Quail Auction, Carmel, on 19 August, the ex-Team Cunningham 1963 E-type Lightweight Competition, chassis S850664, will be offered for sale.
This car was raced by Walt Hansgen and Augie Pabst at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1963, and also appeared at the 1963 Road America 500 and Bridgehampton 500 races. It was the seventh Lightweight built, and was dispatched from the factory on 7 June 1963, the second of the three cars sold to Briggs Cunningham. When delivered to Cunningham for use at Le Mans, the car was was fitted with a four-speed gearbox, which unfortunately failed, causing the retirement of the car in the first hour. Following Le Mans, a five-speed ZF gearbox was fitted, and in this configuration the car finished 11th at Road America in the hands of Walt Hansgen/Paul Richards, with Richards finishing 4th at Bridgehampton a week later.
Following these three races, the car was retired to Cunningham’s museum in Costa Mesa, California.
The car retains its factory-issued aluminium coachwork and matching-numbers alloy engine, and is accompanied by a comprehensive file of documentation detailing its history and provenance. The car is presented ready for immediate use in historic-racing events.
E-types play a starring role in Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Jaguar Classic showcased a bespoke Jaguar E-type at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant on 5 June. The one-off renovation features a comprehensive list of enhancements carried out by the expert technicians at Classic Works, and metallic blue paintwork inspired by the Union Jack.
The unique E-type, featuring a 4.7-litre six-cylinder engine, five-speed gearbox and uprated suspension and brakes, made its debut alongside 15 iconic Jaguars to feature in the Jubilee Pageant, including a selection of historically important Jaguar E-types, an all-electric I-PACE eTROPHY race car, and seven convertible Jaguars all carrying famous Dames.
The customer, thrilled to participate, was joined by American dancer, model, and fashion designer, Eric Underwood in the passenger seat. The Series E-type was built two days after the customer’s date of birth, and was rebuilt over a 12-month period and finished to a bespoke specification. We hope to feature an in-depth article about the car’s restoration in a future issue.
Also on a Queen’s Jubilee theme, Richard and Fatos Carter kindly sent us a photograph of their splendid E-type FHC
with appropriate patriotic Jubilee accessories.
Two OBL 1961 E-types in Silverstone Auctions sale
On 28 May, Silverstone Auctions offered two ‘outside-bonnetlock’ E-types for sale – right-hand drive chassis 38, and lefthand drive chassis 198. US-spec Roadster 875198 was exported to Jaguar Cars New York in July 1961, before being supplied to its first owner in Honolulu.
Finished in its original Bronze, with Beige interior and Fawn soft-top, the car has recently undergone a full restoration, and will require a period of ‘running-in’. The car carried a sale-price estimate of £190,000–£220,000.
UK Roadster 850038 was finished in June 1961 and supplied to Appleyard Leeds as a demonstrator. Finished in Opalescent Dark Blue with Red hide, the car was fully restored in 2004, with a recorded mileage at that time of 32,000.
After being traded in for a Jaguar Mk2 by its first owner, the car then remained with same family for 50 years. The original unrestored factory hard-top remains with the car, which had a saleprice estimate of £220,000–£260,000.
RM Sotheby’s handles sale of fully restored US-spec E-type
Sotheby’s currently has a 1969 Series 2 roadster for private sale in Stuart, Florida, with an asking price of $165,000. In the care of the previous owner, the US-spec car, finished in Cream with Black convertible top, underwent a complete mechanical and cosmetic restoration, which was completed in 2018. The fully documented work included rebuilding the engine and the fitment of new brown leather upholstery. The car is presented with JDHT certificate and extensive invoicing.
The forthcoming RM Sotheby’s sale at Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, sees a 1961 ‘flat-floor’ Series I roadster for sale. The left-hand drive model, completed at Brown’s Lane in September 1961, was originally exported to Italy, returning to the UK in 2013. The car has an estimated sale price of €150,000– €175,000 EUR.
Le Mans film-set 1970 E-type offered for sale in Monaco
Bonhams has announced that it will be offering a 1970 US-spec E-type Series II that was delivered new to the SOLAR Movie Productions set of the Le Mans film. The car will be offered in the Bonhams Monaco Sale during the 2022 Monaco Historic Grand Prix, on 13 May.
The now Swiss-registered 1970 4.2-litre roadster will be offered with its original period UK numberplates, carrying an estimate of €250,000-350,000 at no reserve. The left-hand drive unrestored US-specification car has also retained its original silver over black colour scheme. Owner Fredy Zurbrügg was a young chef when he was approached by the movie’s production manager, Hubert Fröhlich, to work on the sixth Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which was filmed partly in Switzerland. He then worked on Fröhlich’s next production, Le Mans.
Fredy brought his own kitchen from St Gallen, which was soon catering for 800 cast and crew members, including Steve McQueen, for whom he invented a special dish – the ‘Steve Steak’. According to Fredy’s account in the 2017 book Our Le Mans, this friendliness extended to a generous gift, when the actor asked him to ‘choose one’ of the famous petrolhead’s personal fleet: a Jaguar, a Porsche 911 and a Mercedes Pagoda SL. ‘I decided on the silver Jaguar, a convertible E-type Series II with only 600 miles on the speedo.’
Fort Lauderdale RM Sothebys auction sees E-types in demand
The recent RM Sothebys Fort Lauderdale Auction, held at Broward County Convention Center on 25-26 March, saw four E-types sold. A 1962 Series 1 Roadster, delivered to its first owner in Miami in July 1962, and owned by the same family from new, sold for $110,000. The car, finished in Cream, with Red interior, was restored 16 years ago, and featured an unrestored factory hardtop, with original manuals and documentation, and JDHT certificate.
Another 1962 Series 1 Roadster, finished in Green with a Tan interior and Black soft-top, with matching-numbers engine and extensive documentation, sold for $137,500. This E-type was built on 7 March 1962, and arrived at Jaguar Cars, New York in April 1962.
The multi-award-winning car underwent a full restoration in 2007, with further mechanical reconditioning in 2015. A fully restored 1971 S3 2+2, with JDHT certificate sold for $63,250, while a 1973 example sold for $48,400.