MR E
ASK EVEN the most passing of car enthusiasts who designed the Ferrari 250 GTO and the majority, if not all, would be able to answer Pininfarina. It’s also generally known that Marcello Gandini created the Lamborghini Countach during his time at Bertone and Italdesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro was responsible for the groundbreaking first generation of the Volkswagen Golf. But, ask who designed the legendary E-type and only the most ardent of Jaguar fanatics would be able to name Malcom Sayer.
While his rivals have become household names, as famous as their creations, Sayer remains a little known enigma, a footnote in the history of Jaguar and automotive design as a whole. Yet, thanks to his unrivalled understanding of aerodynamics, which resulted in some of the world’s most beautiful cars, he was arguably the greatest car designer of his generation.
Like many geniuses, Sayer came from humble beginnings. Born on 21 May 1916, at 4, St Mary’s Road in the Norfolk seaside town of Cromer, his parents, Gilbert A Sayer (a teacher) and Annie Sayer (née Hudson) were both from the area. A plaque placed above the front door by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust in May 2008 today marks his association with the house.
Sayer went to the grammar school 30 miles along the coast in Great Yarmouth when he was just nine, two years younger than normal due to passing the equivalent of the 11-plus.
His father worked at the same school, teaching the unusual combination of maths and art, two
