Automotive History Jaguar e Type
Europe’s first mass-produced sports car, the Jaguar E-Type, one of the most desirable and revered cars in automotive history, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011. The Jaguar E-Type caused a sensation when it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland in March 1961. Such was the demand from motoring journalists for demonstration runs that Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons had chief test driver Norman Dewis motor through the night from the United Kingdom to deliver another model to Switzerland. Jaguar designed and produced the E-Type at Browns Lane in Coventry and the first UK sales began in July 1961.
Norman, 90, speaking at London’s Design Museum as part of a 50th anniversary event, said: ‘Coventry to Dover took me two hours and I completed the run to Geneva in just 11 hours. I averaged 68mph - it was quite a drive. The E-Type took the motoring world by storm and it was great to be its test driver.’
The legendary E-Type was capable of achieving 150mph but cost much less than rival makes with similar performance. Consequently, the elegant sports car became an instant hit - and went on to remain on sale for 14 years with more than 70,000 models being sold. When it was launched, the E-Type cost just over £2,250, including the optional wire wheels, the equivalent today of £38,000.
The E-Type set new standards in design and performance and today it remains one of the most iconic sports cars of all time. Indeed, its design gained the car a permanent spot in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Even Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari, admitted it was ‘the most beautiful car in the world’. The E-Type’s bodywork was the work of Malcolm Sayer, a trained aeronautical engineer, who had also applied his aerodynamic expertise in shaping the earlier Le Mans-winning Jaguar C-Type and D-Type racers.
The E-type’s straight-six engine had powered Jaguar to five Le Mans victories in the 1950s and by 1961, in 3.8-litre form, it produced 265bhp, making the car, like its XK120 predecessor, the fastest production car in the world. Many E-Types still exist including the 11th car made which has the chassis number 850011. This was one of the pre-production cars which were sold to selected customers who would race them, gaining the model valuable promotion. The 11th car went to George Wicken, a successful Formula 2 driver, who raced it throughout 1961 against the likes of Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori and Bruce McLaren. The Jaguar E-Type attracted the attention of the rich and famous, and among the celebrities who owned one were soccer star George Best, actress Brigitte Bardot, and actors Tony Curtis and Steve McQueen.
Formula 1 legend John Surtees, who was one of the E-Type's first customers, said at a 50th anniversary event: ‘Up until 1961, people had associated motoring beauty with either Italy or Germany but here was a beautiful car which had been built and designed in the UK - it was a must have. The E-Type has the Jekyll and Hyde personality that every good sports car must have, fierce at one moment and docile the next.’
The managing director of Jaguar Cars, Mike O’Driscoll, said in January 2011: ‘Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type. It remains Jaguar’s most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguar’s founder, Sir William Lyons.’
