Jaguar E-types

We celebrate the Jaguar E-Type's 60th anniversary by bringing together roadsters from each end of the legendary line.

Kicking off the E-type’s 60th anniversary year with the first Roadster and last V12.

Ifind it hard to believe that we are about to celebrate 60 years since the launch of the Jaguar E-type, the car that Enzo Ferrari was reputed to have said was the one car he wished that he had built. In 1961 when Jaguar announced the E-type, it pretty much set the motoring world on fire with excitement. In fact it is probably true to say that never before or since has such an aesthetically beautiful yet radically new car design been created. So I was over the moon when I recently had the chance of comparing 77 RW – the very first 3.8-litre E-type Roadster – with HDU 555N, a Series 3 V12 roadster and the very last E-type produced.

E-type chassis No.850003, body number 4 and registered 77 RW, was the original 'flat floor' open roadster driven out

to Switzerland for the Geneva Show in 1961 by test driver Norman Dewis. Originally a test chassis that Jaguar did not plan to sell, it had some unique features. For example, the side window channels are only on the inside of the doors and do not support the glass up the A-post. Jaguar discovered later that at high speed the windows would be drawn away from the A-post by the wind or slipstream, so window channels were extended on later cars.

Author and historian Philip Porter said: 'I drove 77 RW to Switzerland 10 years ago and found that the drumming from the hood was very pronounced. Later production cars had this dealt with by sewing in lead shot, but that was never dealt with on 77 RW.

'This was the car tested in period by Motor magazine. When on the way to MIRA for the road test however, it was following a Jaguar Mk2 which hit a Hillman Minx coming from the opposite direction. A wheel from the Minx came off, hit the front of 77 RW, then bounced from the bonnet into the windscreen which it smashed. Due to a lack of spares in those early days, there was then some delay before Motor were finally able to get the car back from Jaguar on March 2nd. It was then road tested and achieved at top speed of 149.1mph.'

After its time as the Jaguar press car, 77 RW was eventually sold off to become privately owned. In 1967 it was spotted by a Mr Michael Kilgannon for sale by a dealer for £400. Realising that the car was a very early chassis, Kilgannon went to see it as soon as he could. It was dirty, in poor condition and the tyres needed inflating, but the original buff logbook showed that it had been originally registered by Jaguar at Browns Lane, Coventry in 1961. Kilgannon handed over the money and took the car home, where it stayed virtually untouched until 1991, when he took the car to Donington for the E-type 30th anniversary.

In 2000, an agreement was struck between the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and Mr Kilgannon whereby he would put the car on long term loan to the Trust, whilst they in return would restore it in time for the E-type 40th anniversary celebrations at Geneva in 2001. The car therefore resides at the JDHT at Gaydon in Warwickshire, but Michael Kilgannon still uses his car on a number of weekends every year.

Climbing into this early E-type for the first time, once strapped in I fire up the engine and listen to the wonderful straight-six burbling as I select first and

In 1961, the E-type pretty much set the motoring world on fire with excitement

move off. The steering via that large diameter wood rim wheel feels heavy at walking pace, but as soon as you are on the move it becomes light and precise. After a couple of exploratory laps of the test track, I’m beginning to feel quite at home so I cautiously feed in the power. Approaching a right-hander, I heel and toe down into third, noting that this E-type's accelerator pedal is level with the brake so I don’t have to lift my foot a micron, just slide it to the side and roll onto the throttle.

Accelerating again, the straightsix growl is enough to give you goose pimples, it sounds so good. Holding off turning into the next corner until the last second, I whip her around hard to the right, apply a slight flick of correction just as the tail starts to slide, then feed in the power exiting the turn. The Dunlop Sport radials give plenty of grip until the breakaway point, after which a controlled drift is followed by an immense feeling of satisfaction and a huge smile.

This old Jaguar is set up beautifully, with relatively little roll and a rather controlled ride. At 5750rpm the E-type’s engine note is a straight-six sonata. With the ball of my foot on the brake on the approach to the next corner, the speed drops off; I prod the throttle with the side of my heel and guide the lever forward, hesitating momentarily through neutral. With smooth mechanical perfection she slips satisfyingly into third. It is the same story back and across the gate into second, and then I’m accelerating again. At the next bend I brake like crazy from around 120mph. The E-type's brakes by reputation left something to be desired, but there is certainly no problem today.

I can't help wondering if this experience could possibly be improved, but eventually I have to get out, so I slow down and pull up next to the immaculate black HDU 555N, the last E-type off the production line in 1974 (though

cars hung around showrooms into 1975). The E-type Series 3 was fitted with the aluminium block 5.3-litre V12. The larger motor weighed little more than the XK straight-six however, therefore the suspension and body construction required little modification. Also, it was unnecessary to position the motor much further back to maintain the car's balance.

The Series 3 has a longer wheelbase, and a deeper grille with a larger air intake to compensate for the extra heat generated by the big 5.3-litre engine. Wider wheels cope with the greater performance, flared wheelarches cover them and there are improved brakes too. Changes to the shell did increase weight and drag, but the longer wheelbase of the 2+2 was adopted in both open and closed form.

Standing next to the original 1961 shape car, the 1974 Series 3 appears larger and not quite as aesthetically perfect. Climbing on board the V12 for the first time however, I am impressed with how roomy it feels, the roadster's enlarged cockpit having a big parcel shelf behind the seats which adds to the feeling of spaciousness.

The engine starts easily and ticks over with that special V12 smoothness. I was expecting a heavy clutch and a slow gearbox, but I am quick to discover that neither is the case. Also, although the power steering lacks the same sporty feel as the six- cylinder car's unassisted setup, it is perfectly acceptable and at parking speeds it disguises any extra effort required due to any extra weight up front.

The ride is typically Jaguar – smooth, well damped and quieter than in the six. Performance through the gears though is simply astonishing. With so much torque on hand, if you are feeling lazy you can amble through town traffic hardly ever having to change gear. The V12 chassis might not be as nimble as the straight-six, but handling is still very good. The Series 3 V12 E-type feels different from the earlier car though, and it is not a car that I felt inclined to throw around. Being longer, when cornering hard there is the feeling that if pressed too far then the rear end will let go earlier than it would in the 3.8. Then again, that is not really what the V12 is about. This is a car you could jump into in London and then

Accelerating again, the straight-six growl is enough to give you goose pimples, it sounds so good

not want to get out again until you reached the south of France. If it was not for the restriction of modern speed limits, you could cruise all day at 130mph or more, stopping only for fuel or sustenance, and on arrival in Monte Carlo you'd feel just as fresh as when you had started out. It is a revelation today, but just imagine how amazing it was in 1961...

The general concept of the E-type was kept as close as possible to the Le Mans winning D-type, with that car's main construction features being incorporated into the E-type's design, including the front suspension, brakes and the famous XK engine. These early cars were directed towards drivers of the time who were in positions to give the car maximum positive publicity.

The first time that an E-type took part in a motor race was in 1961 at Oulton Park when Graham Hill won first time out, and Sir Jackie Stewart still has many good memories of the E-type. When the car was announced, the Stewart family owned a Jaguar dealership in Scotland. This and the fact that Sir Jackie’s brother Jimmy was a Works Jaguar driver helped secure an E-type demonstrator in November 1961 at a time when most people were finding it incredibly difficult to get hold of one. Sir Jackie said: 'There were not that many E-types in Scotland to begin with and we were one of the first dealers to get one. It was a very intoxicating car, and you became the centre of attention wherever you drove it. The E-type car was a huge attraction to both regular

motorists and racing drivers alike. Wherever you parked, it was like bees around a honey pot. I was courting my wife Helen at that time and I recall letting her drive it; she did 100mph, which in those days was a high speed. My wife and I went on our honeymoon in the E-type. I have a picture of Helen in her

wedding dress and me in my tails together with the car when we were leaving the church in Helensborough.'

On October 7th 1962, Sir Jackie entered his E-type in two races at Charterhall and came first in both events.

' When I first drove this car

I had never driven anything nearly as exotic,' he said. 'To me it was simply Star Wars. The E-type was probably the most spectacular mass produced road car ever built. The impact of its looks combined with its performance and road holding overshadowed all the more expensive and exotic cars of the time. No car had the symmetry, such excellent lines or the sheer beauty of the E-type, and it was instrumental in establishing me in my racing career.'

Jaguar restoration guru Chris Keith- Lucas recalls it wasn't all plain sailing with the early cars, though. 'One of the problems with the early flat floor cars was the lack of room inside,' he said. 'Considering that Jaguar wanted to export to the American and German markets where people tended to be bigger in stature, it seems remarkably short sighted. Duncan Hamilton was given an early E-type to drive across to the continent, and by the time he got to Dover he was rather uncomfortable. So he stopped at a panel works and got them to make a little tray in the floor that one could get ones heels into. Latterly Jaguar followed the idea, ending the run of the flat floor cars. Early owners would hack a half moon shape out of the rear bulkhead too so they could slide the seat further back. By around 1962 Jaguar saw the light and incorporated that idea into the design.

'The very early cars had elegant and slender but flimsy forged boot hinges that allowed bootlids to wobble sideways, causing damage to the paint. Until a stronger hinge was designed, the remedy was to fit two hinges on each side welded together. Also, at first boot gutters had a single drain hole in the centre of the car, and when parked on a cambered road, water would run into the corner and get inside the boot. This was corrected by a drain hole at each corner.

'As with other early E-types, 77 RW has an outside bonnet lock. Later cars were given internal lock mechanisms, though the external lock mountings remained for quite some time before Jaguar got around to deleting them from the works drawings. Therefore, the visual screw holes remained in cars many months after production of cars with external bonnet locks had ended.'

Turning now to the other end of production, being the last car off the line, HDU 555N was the last of 50 commemorative E-type Series 3 V12s. As the XJS production line was already in place at the time, those

With so much torque on hand, if you are feeling lazy you can amble through town traffic hardly ever having to change gear

last 50 E-types were in fact hand finished and assembled off to one side in the factory, and HDU also has one or two little secrets. Keen observers will have noted that it has no reversing lights; that's because by the time this car came off the line, there were no reversing lights left in stock, therefore, none were fitted and Jaguar haven’t added them since.

Also, in 2020 when preparing if for the Tour Auto, some wear was found in the rear wheel bearings and universal joints. As Tony Merrygold at JDHT confides: ' We ordered the correct specification bearings and universal joints for a 1974 E-type, but neither bearings nor UJs would fit. We then cross referenced the bearings with Jaguar's parts list and discovered that they fitted a earlier car. Clearly at some point in its early life, HDU must have had problems at the back end, so this was removed and just swapped in the workshop at the factory for quickness. It is just one of the challenges the Trust has in maintaining our cars in running condition without a full service history.'

For the first couple of years of its life HDU was used as a press car, then later as a Jaguar company car for various people until being transferred to the Trust when it was formed in 1983. Like 77 RW, at the time of writing the JDHT were planning to drive HDU to Geneva in April 2021 for the 60th Commemorative Tour.

As for me, the experience of driving such a wonderful early E-type is something to be savoured, but whereas the original 1960s car was an out and out sports car, by the end of production the later stretched V12 had matured into a genuine GT. And it is one that I would really love to own.

OUR THANKS FOR HELP TO:

Tony Merrygold (www.jaguarheritage.com)

Philip Porter (www.porterpress.co.uk)

Chris Keith-Lucas of CKL Developments Ltd (www.ckl.co.uk) The original 1960s car was an out and out sports car, but the later stretched V12 had matured into a genuine GT

77 RW was the original E-type roadster, driven to the Swiss launch in 1961.

HDU 555N was the very last E-type to be built, rolling out of the Jaguar factory in 1974.

ABOVE AND RIGHT: The first 500 E-types were 'flat floor' models, highly prized today but too cramped for most drivers back in the day.

Originally released as a fixed head coupé or an open roadster, only two seats were available at launch, but a stretched 2+2 version of the coupé was released in 1966. To many, the early roadster is still the purest.

ABOVE: 3.8 engines were mated to a Moss gearbox that lacked synchromesh on first. The 4.2 introduced in 1964 drove through an all-synchro Jaguar gearbox.

Until 1964, that graceful bonnet hid a 3.8-litre XK engine. From 1964 this was enlarged to 4.2-litres; it had the same power, but more torque.

ABOVE AND RIGHT: In a more spacious cabin, the Series 3 also featured safety-conscious rocker switches that had been introduced on the Series 2. Power steering was standard, an automatic gearbox optional.

The larger radiator opening with its slatted grille and the flared arches are instant markers for the V12engined Series 3. The former SWB option was no longer offered, all convertibles and coupés getting the LWB.

ABOVE: Jaguar's V12 engine had been developed initially for the XJ13 Le mans race car in the 1960s, but made its debut in the Series 3 E-type from 1971.

Note that there are no reversing lights on this car – there were none left in stock at the factory when the last cars rolled off the production lines.