Original doesn’t necessarily mean best
YOU KNOW WHEN TV shows flash up signs for balance, saying things such as ‘other two-stage microfibre mops are available’, well, we need to do a bit of that this month, too.
Before you get to our cover story, please be aware that other modded, uprated, or otherwise altered Jaguar E-types are available. Loads of them, in fact, from pretty much every major specialist, and it has to be said that many of them are absolutely superb. But the Eagle E-type is the original, the 1994 pioneer that gave birth to this entire new class of classic car thanks to the devotion and determination of the indefatigable Henry Pearman.
Henry’s not just one of the good guys, but one of the best. By focusing on Eagle we are not ignoring the many other retro-modded E-types (and if you are in the market for one, you should try them all), but celebrating a kernel of an idea that grew into an industry in its own right, and cars that have now been around so long that they have evolved into classics themselves.
Of course, there will always be the thorny issue that every new upgraded car means one less original but, with well over 50,000 built and plenty of survivors, it is not as if E-types are so rare that a few can’t be used as mobile laboratories. For the record, fewer than 50 Jaguars have become Eagle E-types to date. We know very well that argument won’t convince everyone, but all it took to win over Octane was a blast in these scintillating rockets. So, here’s to the next 25 years of Eagle-uprated E-types.
WHEN YOU BROWSE through this issue’s Month in Pictures, try to recall that only two months ago there wasn’t a single current picture in there because we were still delighting in our readers’ contributions in lieu of any live Historic motorsport, events or meets. Just look at it now, though, bursting with late-summer concours, racing, road-trips, rallies and more.
The transformation is incredible and so welcome; it has been wonderful to get out again meeting people, seeing great cars and revelling in top-notch events. Will it last? Everything could be turned on its head again between me writing these words and this magazine making its way into your hands, but right now it feels like we’ve just started a new term – and it’s going to be a fantastically busy one. Bring it on!