Lost & found
A historically significant competition Jaguar E-type has been unearthed in the USA, five decades after it last raced. The fixed-head 1961 E-type, chassis 885096, was the 96th left-hand-drive coupé off the production line before being shipped to its first owner in Florida.
Its racing debut came at the Daytona Continental in 1965, piloted by owner Richard B Robson, and it later went on to contest the Daytona 24 Hours in 1967, ’68 and ’69. More World Sportscar Championship outings came at the 12 Hours of Sebring (1965, ’66, ’67 and ’68). The Jaguar’s best result came at Sebring in 1966, when Robson, Rajah Rodgers and Bill Buchman finished third in class behind the Corvettes of Team Penske and Harold Whims, 30th overall.
“It has made probably the most starts ever by an E-type in longdistance races,” says current owner and long-time Jaguar enthusiast David Hinton, who discovered the car three years ago just a few hours’ drive away from the track where it last raced five decades before.
His search began after sharing a 911 RSR with Jochen Mass and Brian Johnston at the 2014 Le Mans Classic, resolving one day to return with his own car – and that car should be this E-type.
When Robson died in 2007, the Jaguar was sold on ebay to Guy Anderson. Three years into its restoration, Hinton was asked to buy it following Anderson’s death.
“I plan to restore it to its original condition, including the aluminium bonnet and other period competition parts,” he says.
He’s hopeful of an invitation to the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’elegance for the car’s post-restoration debut, before going racing.