V12 E-Type: Beauty And The Beast

By MURRAY HUBBARD

I have a confession to make. I am not particularly fond of British classic cars. But, there are exceptions.

In trying to analyze my preference for the US marques, I recently turned to my distant childhood. Maybe that would shed some light on why cars from the Old Dart just don't measure up against Uncle Sam.

This brought me to my brother George, who has had more cars than Sunday roasts ... a problem he lived with during the 1960s, but has since overcome. Those cars included some British offerings.There was an Austin A40, a 2.5 litre Riley and a Triumph Herald.

Firstly, the A40.

When he brought this gem home he decided to jack it up to inspect the exhaust and after five minutes hard work on the jack found the wheels had lifted not one cracker. Zilch. Stepping back, scratching his jaw, he took in the sight. The A40 was bending in the middle, leaving the front and back passenger side wheels still firmly on terra firma. The A40 was gone in a week.

The Riley was a magnificent car, but kept breaking rear axles. They were not cheap.

Lastly, the Triumph Herald. It spent more time at the workshop than on the road. It was more out of tune than Kamahl. And rattle. Could it shake. An absolute shocker.

Then there's the E-Type. The greatest exception to my British phobia. Arguably the most beautiful sports car of all time. I was 13 when the E-Type hit our roads in 1961 and to this day the sight of this iconic Jaguar still sends shivers down my spine. If they had shortcomings, as the early models did, I could easily overlook them. In these days of short bonnet cars, the E-Type is even more accentuated than it was in the 1960s.

Also known as the XK-E the car was manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1974 and launched at the Geneva Motor Show.In that period more than 70,000 examples were sold, or should we say bought, by those who had the same opinion as your motoring scribbler. The E-Type was the progression from the XK 120, XK 140 and XK 150 cars brought out by Jaguar after WW2 ended. The Series 1 was introduced in March, 1961 using the 3.8 litre straight six, XK6 engine with triple SU carburettors from the XK 150S.

Our featured E-Type is a later model, a Series 3 roadster, that hides a whopping 5.3 litre V12 Jaguar engine under the bonnet. In appearance this cars differs from the short wheel base body styles. It was only available as a convertible and 2+2 coupe, meaning there was a rear seat for two passengers, while the shorter E-Types were strictly two seaters.

Identification of the Series 3 is relatively easy. The grille is slatted, unlike the single chrome bar that traverses the earlier models. It is also slightly larger as is the radiator. Series 3 also had wider wheel arches ... and a not too subtle badge on the boot that proclaims `Jaguar E Type V12.' The Series 3 was designed for the US market, which is one reason it was launched at the New York Motor Show in 1971.

After the E-Type was retired in 1975, the V12 continued on in Jaguar marques including the XJS, XJ12 models and up to the XJ40 V12 in the late 1980s.