Description
Kelham Hall | Newark, Nottinghamshire
Viewing: Tues 16th June from 12pm
Auction: Wed 17th June from 9am
Location: Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5QX
1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster
Desirable home-market example
Estimate
£55, 000 - £65, 000
Registration No: TPR 801L
Chassis No: 1S1387
MOT: October 2026
Desirable home-market example, being one of just 1, 872 RHD examples made
Extensively restored in the early 1990s by marque specialists XK Engineering, costing around £45, 000
In current ownership since 2015, when purchased from former E-Type specialist CMC for £69, 000
Benefits from some £22, 000 worth of expenditure across the vendor's ownership
Sensibly uprated with a five-speed manual gearbox and Sports steering rack
By 1971, Jaguar's jaw-dropping E-Type had been in production for a decade. Despite continual improvements, new emissions legislation in the all-important American market threatened to strangle the big cat's performance. Jaguar responded by giving its revered sports car fresh claws in the shape of a 5, 343cc V12 developed from the stillborn XJ13 Le Mans car. The new engine was both effortlessly powerful and eerily refined. "The turbine-like smoothness with which the engine provides a sustained shove in the back is almost uncanny, the more so when one accelerates hard in top gear without even a gearchange to interrupt one's headlong dash into the distance," said Autocar on July 5th, 1973. With some 272bhp and 304lb. ft. of torque on tap, the Series III E-Type once again had 150mph in its sights. A revised wheelbase yielded better cabin space and in conjunction with wider front and rear tracks, new anti-dive front suspension geometry and fatter tyres gave improved road holding. Imbued with a more muscular stance thanks to its flared wheel arches, re-profiled wings and larger grille, the model also boasted vented disc brakes and a restyled interior. Only 1, 872 right-hand drive E-type V12 Roadsters are thought to have been made.
This British Racing Green beauty of a V12 E-type has been previously restored to a concours-winning standard and carefully maintained ever since. ‘TPR 801L’ was constructed on May 14th, 1972, as a genuine RHD, home-market Open Two-Seater with the desirable manual gearbox, and it was despatched on June 16th for retail through Henlys of Bournemouth, with the first owner was one Mrs. R. Purdy.
In 1989, it was placed in the hands of marque specialists XK Engineering, who performed a restoration of the very highest quality. Altogether, the work cost some £45, 000 plus VAT, which in today’s money equates to around £130, 000. The process was photographically documented, so the quality of the workmanship may still be appreciated. At some stage, it was uprated with a five-speed gearbox and a sports steering rack.
The Jaguar has been with the vendor since 2015, and prior to that it had been in single ownership since 2002. The odometer was reset to zero miles at the time of the 1990 restoration, and by April, 2006, it had covered 21, 600 miles. Though the restoration was fifteen years old at that point, the E-Type was in its prime, picking up a run of concours accolades. It placed first in the Sports Car class in the Jaguar Drivers’ Club’s Scottish National concours in 2004, was highly commended at the International C-Type Register Concours, and crowned the winner of Best Car at the JDC Scottish National in 2006. It was further improved in 2013 when a new mohair hood was fitted by the well-known Jaguar specialist Classic Motor Cars Ltd. (CMC).
It was through CMC that our vendor acquired the car at a cost of £69, 000 in January, 2015. By that stage, it had covered around 37, 500 miles, and, with its restoration then twenty-five years old, it was decided that it was due some refurbishment. It began that March with a comprehensive service and a general overhaul by CMC, which totalled £6, 816. Between 2017 and 2021, the E-Type made annual visits to Sherwood Restorations Ltd. for further servicing and maintenance, all of which added up to just shy of £6, 000. In addition to the regular fluid changes, suspension greasing, etc., Sherwood also replaced some universal joints and renewed some of the perishable suspension parts. The interior was chemically cleaned and refinished in 2018; a new gearbox mounting rubber, door seal rubber and nearside front ball-joint gaiter were fitted in 2020; and in 2021 new rear brake pads were fitted and the wiring was partially renewed.
In 2023, responsibility for the E-Type passed to P. & K. Thornton Restorations Ltd., which performed a service and more general refurbishment, as well changing some suspension bushes and checking the front brakes. This work came to a total of £6, 306. Most recently, another service was performed by TR Enterprises, and that, along with some other small jobs including the replacement of the clutch slave cylinder, cost £2, 305. Besides the £22, 000 total expenditure in the present ownership, further testament to the level of care this car has received is the fact that it has been regularly MOTed even after being granted historic exemption, and is supplied with an MOT with no advisories, valid until October, 2026. It was seen to run and drive very well during our photoshoot, and altogether it seems barely to have aged since 1990. It is supplied with much paperwork including the V5C, a JDHT certificate, concours certificates, old tax discs, MOTs back to 1990, DVLA ownership records, and many invoices.
** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply**
Parking and entry into the auction is free for auction attendees with a catalogue, available at the door.
Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2 people).
