I think it's interesting to watch the progression of the styling from the C through the D to the E. The engineering progression is also interesting. The C is mostly a re-skinned XK-120, the D goes semi-monocoque and adds, among many other things, 4 wheel discs, and the E takes the whole thing into a series prodution form.
Have any of you read any of Burt Levy's novels? They follow a young mechanic through racing in the 1950's. In his 1st book, "The Last Open Road", he spends the better part of a chapter describing driving a brand new C type from New York to Road America, in Wisconsin. The section on a night run down the Pennsylvania Turnpike is breathtaking.