Red letter day for Jaguar
E-TYPE ONCE OWNED BY CARTOONIST FAMED FOR LOVE OF FAST CARS AND FAST LIVING UP FOR SALE
ASTRIKING tangerinecoloured Jaguar E-type that served as the company car of one of Britain’s most iconic newspaper cartoonists is set to go under the hammer.
The impressive motor was supplied new to the Daily Express in 1970 and given to Raymond Jackson, best known by his penname Jak, who worked there at the time.
An iconic figure among cartoonists, Jak was almost as famed for his love of fast cars and fast living as he was for his comical illustrations.
He was often seen driving the racy Jag around London in the ‘70s, when it boasted the artist’s own personalised number plate: JAK 449.
The illustrator, who died in 1997, was highly regarded and it was said the late Prince Phillip collected his work. Over the years Jak worked for the Evening Standard, where he began his career in 1952, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Express and the Sunday Express.
His old Jag is being brought to auction by car specialists H&H Classics, which expects the vehicle to fetch around £55,000.
Enzo Ferrari once described the E-type as “the most beautiful car in the world” and its iconic smooth edges continue to astound car aficionados to this day.
According to the records, Jak’s Jag was manufactured on April 23, 1970, and dispatched to dealers Henlys of London a few days later.
It was first registered as ‘JAK 449’ to the Daily Express newspaper on May 20, when it is thought to have been given to Jackson as a company car.
He is believed to have driven the motor for several years before selling it to its second owner, who sold it to its third and current owner in 1976.
The present vendor, who’s offering it for sale, used the E-type as a family car at times and, at one point, even used it for camping trips and attached a roof rack.
It was resprayed in 1994 and underwent an engine overhaul in 2010.
A H&H Classics spokesman said: “This E-type Jaguar was supplied new to the Daily Express newspaper and is understood to have been the company car of
Express cartoonist JAK whose work gave pleasure to millions.
“Renowned for his love of fast living and fast cars, with personalised number plates, his razor-sharp wit and eye for the funny things in life made him one of the country’s best-known cartoonists.”
The Jag, now with registration ‘BME 63H,’ will go under the hammer at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambrideshire, on May 26.