JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 3 (1971-1974)
Following the popularity of the E-Type – or XK-E as it was known – in America, Jaguar decided to gear the Series 3 car heavily towards the US market to maximise sales. A bigger engine for more power was a given, as the company felt the 4.2 XK couldn’t reasonably produce much more power without compromising useability.
A V8 was initially the plan, but ultimately thought not right for the E-Type so, seeing the success of Ferrari on road and at Le Mans with V12 engines, Jaguar decided to double down on its straight-six and do the same. Initially a quad-cam configuration was the plan, but the E-Type’s low bonnet line simply couldn’t accommodate it. Engineer Walter Hassan had four main parameters in mind when developing the V12: similar or better power than the race-spec XK engines, a minimal weight
