This Jaguar E-Type has spent over 48 years tucked away in a storage shed, it was originally parked up in 1973/1974 when it needed some work on its brake calipers and bodywork. It would remain gathering dust for half a century before being rediscovered and put up for sale.
The E-Type, known as the XKE in the USA, is one of the most universally beloved classic cars of all time. It frequently sits atop lists of “The Most Beautiful Cars Of All Time” and it’s not just a pretty face, the E-Type is an accomplished race car with countless wins to its name.
Fast Facts – A Jaguar E-Type Barn Find
- This E-Type has spent the better part of half a century in storage, parked out of the wind, rain, and weather waiting for someone to come a long and get it back on the road.
- This car is a desirable matching-numbers example of the 4.2 liter E-Type coupe, the fact that it has its original body and engine make it a desirable candidate for restoration.
- Jaguar released the E-Type in 1961 as a replacement for the XK series using many of the technologies pioneered in the Jaguar D-Type that had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in a row in 1955, 1956, and 1957.
- As a 1965 model this E-Type has a the larger 4.2 liter XK straight-six with double overhead cams producing 265 bhp and 283 lb ft of torque. The top speed was listed as 150 mph (241 km/h) and the car offered excellent performance for the era thanks to its all-independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes.
The Importance Of The E-Type
Much has been said about the importance and historical significance of the Jaguar E-Type, when it was released in 1961 it’s price was £2,061 – 1/3rd to 1/5th the price of a similarly equipped sports GT car from the likes of Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati, or Mercedes-Benz.
It’s clear after looking at images of the exterior and interior that this car needs a full restoration, however all the major parts are here which could make it an excellent project for the right person.
No article on the E-Type is ever complete without referencing the quote attributed to Enzo Ferrari where he called it “the most beautiful car ever made” as well as something along the lines of “the only problem with the car is that it doesn’t have a Ferrari badge on the bonnet.”
Automotive historians debate the whether these quotes are actually real but as the saying goes, one should never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
The world would see the Jaguar E-Type for the first time at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. The combination of stunning good looks, its technologically advanced unibody chassis, suspension, and brakes, combined with the low sticker price instantly made it one of the most desirable cars on earth.
The top speed in excess of 150 mph is the equivalent to a 200 mph top speed today, and the car cost the equivalent of £48,800 or $66,165 USD in 2022 pounds/dollars. It was essentially a Ferrari-beating supercar that many middle class folks could afford – with some assistance from their local bank manager of course.
Jaguar produced the E-Type from 1961 until 1975 when it was replaced with the considerably less popular Jaguar XJ-S. It wouldn’t be until 2013 that Jaguar would release the true successor to the E-Type – the all-new F-Type.
As a 1965 model this car benefits from the upgrade to the 4.2 liter XK engine over the 3.8 liter unit found in earlier cars. Power stayed the same at 265 bhp but torque increased from 240 lb ft to 283 lb ft.
The E-Type was built over three generations: Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 cars. The earlier Series 1 cars are the most desirable and most “pure” versions of the design, though they all now claim significant sums on the classic car market.
The Jaguar E-Type Barn Find Shown Here
The car you see here has been preserved, albeit covered in dust, for the better part of half a century. It was ordered new in 1965 by R. Grawford of Grawford (Oaklands) Farm Ltd in Wood Farm, Cabrooke.
It would later be bought by Mr David Trenchard Thom, a professional jockey turned racehorse trainer, who sold it in 1971 to its current owner who bought it to celebrate getting a teaching job. The car was driven regularly in the early 1970s with a distinctive white husky frequently riding in the passenger seat.
The car was parked up in 1973/1974 as it needed new disc brake rotors and some bodywork fixed. As is often the case life got in the way and the car remained in the shed for 48+ years.
It’s now being offered for sale with H+H Auctions, it’ll be crossing the auction block on the 16th of March at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.
Above Films: This excellent short film from Goodwood Road & racing showcases the Jaguar E2A, the early precursor to the production E-Type.
Images courtesy of H+H Auctions
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
