PROJECT E-TYPE
Is it really necessary to justify why we have a hankering to do things in a certain way, or why we embark on a particular course? We’d been extremely content with our 1966 open E-type, a superb example and possibly one of the best driving cars to be found. With 50,000-miles under our belt, mainly holidaying in Europe, why on earth we would want another E-type?
Thinking back in the mists of time, two memories surface; one was when my wife Karen, said that she’d quite like another classic, the other was when we thought about buying a new F-TYPE. With Karen’s last classic being a Fiat 124 Spider, thoughts turned to a similar model, but from the Alfa Romeo stable. But she deemed it more cute than exciting. Around the same time, we were looking at an F-TYPE, but her small stature and slight build was lost in the depths of the interior. It was then that she declared that perhaps another E-type might fit the bill.
Jaguar has been under my skin since I recognised the marque as a small child and had my first XK 120 at the age of 19 (an ex-race Triumph TR3A and 3.4 Mk 2 had preceded it). Since joining Paul Skilleter at the launch of (eventually evolving into sister magazine ) in 1988, I have been exposed to every possible incarnation of the E-type and soon became good friends with Henry Pearman at Eagle E-Types. An admirer of their products, as well as an appreciation of the amazing cars coming out of JD Classics, I had an idea of what my perfect E-type would be like and set about making it a reality. It had to be capable of touring through Europe in cool-comfort and yet brutally efficient. And let’s not forget, that Jaguar in period, desperately wanted fuel injection and always sought a five-speed gearbox, from the ill-fated ZF of the lightweights, through to a bespoke unit trialled behind the V12 in the Series 3 E-type.
