50th anniversary of a British motoring icon

[Wizzo]

The year 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous and enviable cars in automotive history - the Jaguar E-Type. An icon of British motoring, the Jaguar E-Type was launched back in 1961, and this year, auto enthusiasts and Jaguar owners are expecting special events around the globe to commemorate the occasion. Jaguar has plans to kick off the proceedings at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the show where the E-Type turned heads back in March of 1961.

From there, the company will go on to celebrate at Goodwood’s Revival and Festival of Speed, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Nurburgring Old Timer Grand Prix and many other Jaguar customer, dealer and lifestyle events around the globe.

A look back – Interesting facts:

On its release Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari called it “The most beautiful car ever made.”

• The E-Type was presented to the world’s press at the restaurant du Parc des Eaux Vives in Geneva on March 15, 1961. It was initially designed and shown to the public as a grand tourer in two-seater coupé form (Fixed Head Coupé) and as convertible (Open Two Seater). A 2+2 version of the coupé was added in 1966.

• The E-type’s straight-six engine got Jaguar five Le Mans victories in the 1950s and by 1961, in 3.8-liter form produced 265bhp and 260lb ft of torque, making the car a genuine 150mph proposition and like its XK120 predecessor, the fastest production car in the world.

• At launch, the E-Type cost £2,256, which translates to £38,000 as of today.

• The E-Type’s stunning bodywork was the work of Malcolm Sayer, an aeronautical engineer by training. He began his career at Jaguar by creating two classic racing machines, the C- and D-types.

• The E-type remained in production for 14 years, selling more than 70,000 units, which make it Europe’s first mass-produced sports car.

[cosworth151]

An absolutely beautiful machine, one of the all time classics. Over here in the States, they were called XK-E. The Jaguar marketing people wanted to be sure that American buyers thought of the car as a continuation of the XK-120/140/150 series.

Most of the major classic car festivals over here will have the E-Type as the feature car this year.

[David]

I love all the 60's Jaguars especially the E-Type, Enzo got it right when he said it was the most beautiful car ever made. Jaguar and Sir William Lyons sure got the designs spot on with all the cars of that era. I love the Mk2's and S-Types which have to be some of the most beautiful saloon cars ever made, and iconic gangster mobiles.

It all when wrong in the 70's with the XJS, a car so ugly it made children cry.

[cosworth151]

I liked the XJS, too. In fact, I've thought about getting one of the coupes before the prices follow the the DHC's into the stratosphere.

It's really not fair to compare the E-Type and the XJS. The E was a sports car. The XJS was, from the start, a Grand Tourer.

[lkjohnson1950]

If you look at the classic car designs of the 60s, the 250GTO, the Cobra, and the E-Type, they are all clean, simple, straight forward designs, unlike most of the monstrosities foisted off on us today.

Lonny