Footnotes

• 'If Les Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans has been responsible for the new E-Type Jaguar, then that Homeric contest on the Sarthe circuit will have been abundantly justified. 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 E-Type's manifest virtues than the forgoing, penned by the inimitable John Bolster for Autosport shortly after the car's debut. Conceived and developed as an open sportscar, the Jaguar E-Type debuted at the Geneva Salon in March 1961 in Coupé form. The car caused a sensation - spontaneous applause breaking out at the unveiling - with its instantly classic lines and a 140mph-plus top speed. The 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 3.8-litre, triple-carburettor, 'S' unit first offered as an option on the preceding XK150. Aerodynamically, the Coupé was superior to the Roadster and the better Grand Tourer, enjoying as it did a marginally higher top speed and the considerable convenience of a generously sized luggage platform accessed via the side-hinged rear door. Its engine aside, only in terms of its transmission did the E-Type represent no significant advance over the XK150, whose durable Moss four-speed gearbox it retained.
  
  
  This left-hand drive Series 1 coupé was delivered new to the USA (believed to California) and has spent the last ten years in Norway where it has been used only during the summer months. It has been part of a large private collection where the car has been continuously maintained by private mechanics and when weather permitting the car has been exercised at least once every six weeks but only for minimal distances each time. It was recently repatriated to the UK and has had the relevant taxes paid and is in the process of being UK registered. Restored during the 1990s, it benefits from a recent major service that included a new clutch slave cylinder, rear axle universal joints, steering rack mounts and rear wheel bearing, while the brakes and carburettors were overhauled. Offered with current MoT, the car is described as in generally good condition, with excellent engine and interior.

Saleroom notices

• Please note this vehicle is UK Registered and all import duties have been paid. We are pleased to advised this vehicle is now UK Registered, the registration number is BOE 107B.