Beschreibung
Bonhams are delighted to offer at our forthcoming Collectors' Motor Car Auction on Saturday 9th September at The Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Motor Circuit, East Sussex, 102 collectors motor cars – plus 200 lots of automobilia and 3 aircraft. The full online catalogue can be viewed at - details above for further images and information on this lot, please follow the link.
1961 JAGUAR E-TYPE 3. 8-LITRE 'FLAT FLOOR' COUPÉ
REGISTRATION NO. 6726 LJ
CHASSIS NO. 860170
* The 170th right-hand drive coupé made
* Single family ownership since 1983
* Off the road for approximately the last ten years
* Offered for re-commissioning/ restoration
£100, 000 - 130, 000
€110, 000 - 140, 000
'Here we have one of the quietest and most flexible cars on the market, capable of whispering along in top gear at 10mph or leaping into its 150mph stride on the brief depression of a pedal. A practical touring car, this, with its wide doors and capacious luggage space, yet it has a sheer beauty of line which easily beats the Italians at their own particular game.'
There have been few better summaries of the Jaguar E-Type's manifest virtues than John Bolster's, penned for Autosport shortly after the car's debut in 1961. Introduced in 3. 8-litre form, the E-Type caused a sensation when it appeared, with instantly classic lines and 150mph top speed. The newcomer's design owed much to that of the racing D-Type: a monocoque tub forming the main structure, while a tubular spaceframe extended forwards to support the engine. The latter was the same 3. 8-litre, triple-carburettor 'S' unit first offered as an option on the preceding XK150. An optimistic 265bhp was claimed, but whatever the installed horsepower, the E-Type's performance did not disappoint; firstly, because it weighed around 500lb (227kg) less than the XK150 and secondly because aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer used experience gained with the D-Type to create one of the most elegant and efficient shapes ever to grace a motor car.
Taller drivers though, could find the interior somewhat lacking in space, a criticism addressed by the introduction of foot wells (and other, more minor, modifications) early in 1962. But of all the versions of Jaguar's long-lived and much-loved sports car, it is the very early 'flat floor' 3. 8-litre cars built prior to February 1962 which, for many enthusiasts, remain the most desirable.
Today, the E-Type's graceful lines live on in modern Jaguar sports cars, and there can be little doubt that William Lyons' sublime creation would feature in any knowledgeable enthusiast's 'Top Ten' of the world's most beautiful cars of all time.
The 170th right-hand drive coupé built, this E-Type has been in single family ownership since 1983, its registration changing from the husband's to his wife's name in 1988. '6726 LJ' is finished in Sky Blue with matching leather interior and has covered a genuine 52, 229 miles from new. Off the road for approximately ten years, the car will require re-commissioning at the very least, and probably more extensive restoration, before returning to the road. Sold strictly as viewed, this collectible early E-Type is offered with a V5C Registration Certificate.
