Enzo Ferrari allegedly described the Jaguar E-Type as the most beautiful car ever made when it was launched in 1961. Frankly, as much as this has been quoted, I have my doubts Enzo ever said that – given he is not known to be generous with his words, let alone for another brand. However, whether he said it or not doesn’t really matter as most people will agree the Jaguar E-Type is a very beautiful car. So beautiful I begged the owner of today’s car to lend it to me for my wedding photos. My wife was, as you’d expect, initially not keen on having a car in our wedding photos; but she changed her mind immediately when she saw it in the metal! It helped further when two years later Kate Middleton’s sister, Pippa Middleton, also featured a Series 1 E-Type at her wedding, giving my wife a “we did it first!” moment.
What we have here today is a 1963 Jaguar E-Type convertible. It was originally a left-hand drive U.S. car, which was then brought back to the UK and converted to right-hand drive. That was when the current owner bought it and brought it back to Hong Kong. It is no garage queen – being a frequent contestant in the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong’s China rallies.
The Jaguar E-Type was produced between 1961-1975 with three variants – convertible, 2 seater hard top (a.k.a. ‘fixed head’), and 4 seater hard top. It was based on the hugely successful Jaguar D-Type racer, which won the 24 hour Le Man for three consecutive years between 1955 to 1957. Having such big shoes to fill, the E-Type was no snail. It has a 3.8 straight 6 carburetor engine producing 265hp – a very impressive figure at the time (and not exactly embarrassing now). Its top speed is 150mph (240kmh), which was apparently verified by motor magazines at the time.
The E-Type proved to be a huge success immediately, especially in the U.S. market, where it was called the XKE. During its 15 year production run there were officially 3 models (being the Series 1, 2 and 3), although many changes happened in-between. Take today’s car for example, it is a 3.8 Series 1 produced between 1961-1964, but in 1964 Jaguar updated its engine to 4.2 (still a Series 1). The 4.2 engine did not increase the car’s horsepower, but increased its torque so that drivers do not have to downshift all the time. The 4 speed transmission also went from not having a synchromesh for first gear in the 3.8 to having synchromesh for all gears in the 4.2.
The Series 2, produced between 1967-1971, consisted predominantly cosmetic changes, cursed by the change in American motor safety regulations. While safety is always important, it is the automotive world’s general consensus that U.S. car safety laws ruin car designs, sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes for no particular reason at all. For example, the Series 2 has these huge ugly turn signal lights under the front bumper, and similarly large and ugly rear lights also moved to under the rear bumper, which now has a wrap-around chrome bumper instead of the Series 1’s two piece. The Series 2 headlights also lost the glass cover found in the Series 1 – I can’t see how much safer that made the car when running over a pedestrian, but it did ruin the smooth lines of the car’s front end for sure. The Series 3 was introduced in 1971 and lasted until the very end of the production period in 1975. It has more cosmetic changes like an even bigger front grille, but the main difference was the upgrade to a V12 engine, which turned the car into more of a heavy grand tour than the sports car that the E-Type was previously.
First time driving this car, I immediately noticed how spacious it was for me. The car looks relatively small from the outside, so the spacious interior was a surprise. Visibility, like most classic cars with thin a-arms and huge windscreens, is very good; except the internal rearview mirror could be bigger.
The ignition of this car was new to me. Unlike conventional carburetor cars, where you have to (i) turn the key; (ii) wait for the fuel pump to prime; (iii) pump the gas pedal; (iv) turn the key further while still pumping the gas pedal; and (v) in some cases, pray it will start. There is a starter button in the E-Type right at the middle of the dashboard next to the key switch. You turn the key, wait only a few seconds for the fuel pump to prime (where, unlike conventional carburetor cars, you won’t hear a ticking noise as the fuel pump is inside the fuel tank), put your foot on the gas pedal (no pumping needed), and then just press the starter button and the car will fire up without much hassle.
The pedal positions are good, and the clutch is light and easy to control (I am starting to think that the notion of classic cars having heavy clutches is a myth, as I have yet to drive one with a heavy clutch!)
The power delivery of the E-Type is not explosive as with modern cars, but it is certainly smooth and ample. You really do feel the lightness of the car when stepping on it. One thing that was hard to get used to in my short drive, however, was the gearbox. Not so much the lack of synchromesh in the first gear, as that simply means you can’t go from second gear to first before the car is fully stopped (something you should generally avoid in classic cars anyway), but more the way the gears are placed. The Series 1 E-Type has a four speed gearbox in conventional H pattern. The issue is that the throws are very long, and the gears are very close together. I was warned by the owner before I set off that it is easy to get into R when trying to go into first. And guess which direction I was going right after that? It is indeed easy to go to R when trying to reach first from neutral. With that experience, it immediately made me nervous when going from first to second (as I may go from first to fourth), or worse yet, going from second to third – imagine if I went to first instead at 5,000rpm! However, I believe these are things that you can easily get used to if you own the car.
Overall, the driving experience of the E-Type was very memorable even though not the easiest to get used to immediately. And I am forever grateful for the generosity of the owner.
Thanks to our crew as always for all the hard work in making this video!
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (Email: david@lemonadeandgiggles.com)
IcyJ (IG: @icyj95)
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