Lot 315: Jaguar E-Type Series III Roadster

Perhaps no other manufacturer but Jaguar could be expected to pull off the same trick twice and get away with it. Certainly the brilliant, even great, Jaguar E Type was going to be a very hard act to follow when, a decade on, some aspects of its design were beginning to show their age. Notably the E Type had been putting on weight as it approached middle-age - a phenomenon sadly known to cars as well as human beings and its legendary performance was not what it once was. Jaguar's solution was, effectively, to give the car a heart transplant. Thus the upcoming V12 - an engine of some magnificence - was brought into early service to create the Series 3 E Type. There were historical echoes here, too, because the legendary XK engine, now being superseded, was also originally slated for a saloon but found itself diverted into an equally successful sports car. The new engine, which turned out 272bhp - a figure no standard XK unit ever approached - finally restored the E Type's critical 150mph top speed and was able to improve considerably on its acceleration figures. Yet for all this ferocious power, the car's legendary refinement imparted it with a slightly Jekyll and Hyde character. Here truly was an iron fist inside a velvet glove. This originally British registered V12 roadster is to the most desirable specification, boasting a manual gearbox, chrome wire wheels and right-hand drive. Finished in red with a black interior, the car is described as being in excellent condition having benefited from a bare metal restoration in 1998. Complete with a current MoT test certificate and road fund licence, both valid until June 2009, V5 registration document, old MoT test certificates and the factory hardtop, this Roadster is ready to be enjoyed.