For sale, £60k Jag (with one not so careful owner)
FLAMBOYANT aristocrat Hugh John Vaughan Campbell was known for his love of fast cars and is said to have written off six E-Type Jaguars in quick succession.
Luckily, another survived, despite being crashed by the sixth Earl of Cawdor in 1967 – and the rare motor has now fetched nearly £60,000 at auction.
The 1966 E-Type was built specially for the late Earl and was one of only three of its kind made. The 150mph coupe was supplied new by P.S. Nicholson of Forres, Moray.
According to the Earl’s daughter, Lady Liza Campbell, his erratic driving meant a string of cars were badly damaged.
In her memoir, she wrote: ‘Pa’s philosophy was that when in town obeying a red light after midnight was a sinful waste of precious time.
‘Typically he would crash at night, after dinner.’
In her 2012 book, Title Deeds: Growing up in Macbeth’s Castle, she added: ‘Instead of spotting any correlation between drinking and the crashes, my father came to an altogether different conclusion: Etypes were rubbish and their suspensions dangerous and thereafter he drove Ferraris.’
The ‘rare and eye-catching’ twoseater Jaguar suffered some accident damage in 1967 but was restored, later going on to become a veteran of numerous rallies.
It was sold at H&H Classics’ auction at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, on
‘It survived driving of the sixth Earl’
Wednesday to an English bidder who paid £58,650.
The sixth Earl was inspired by a similarly bespoke coupé made for the 11th Earl of Elgin, who was president of the RAC and Ecurie Ecosse at the time.
The ‘quad headlamp’ E-type was built by famed Warwickshire coachbuilders Abbey Panels, with Jaguar’s blessing.
Damian Jones, head of sales at H&H Classics, said: ‘This is an extremely rare version of the classic E-Type Jaguar with a fascinating Scottish provenance. A great car to drive, it is history on four wheels.
‘It survived the driving of the sixth Earl of Cawdor, though not unscathed.’
Situated a few miles from Nairn, 15th century Cawdor Castle is best known for its links to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who is made Thane of Cawdor. It was mainly used as a summer residence until the fifth Earl, John Campbell, moved there in the 20th century.
The sixth Earl lived at the Golden Grove Estate in Carmarthenshire, Wales, until his father’s death in 1970. He married Catherine Hynde in 1956 and they had five children before divorcing in 1979, when he wed Angelika Lazansky von Bukowa.
Even after his death in 1993, he caused controversy by leaving Cawdor Castle to his second wife instead of to his heir, Colin.
In 2003, the countess tried to have her stepson, who is the seventh Earl, and his family evicted after they moved in while she was on holiday.
The dispute went to the Court of Session. He eventually agreed to move out but retains property on the estate and financial control of much of it.