The Jaguar E-type will celebrate its 60th birthday next year, and the British marque is commemorating its iconic car in a major way with the release of the E-type 60 Collection.
Jaguar Classic, the company’s restoration arm, will create six matched pairs of E-types to pay tribute to two of the oldest and most famous Jaguar E-types: the 9600 HP and 77 RW, both of which made an impactful showing at the car’s world debut in Geneva, Switzerland 59 years ago.
The 1961 9600 HP, draped in Opalescent Gunmetal Grey and housing a 3.8-liter in the engine bay, was the first of the two E-types unveiled to specially-invited guests at the Parc des Eaux Vives, the site of that year’s Geneva Motor Show. Driven ‘flat out’ to Switzerland from Coventry the night before the launch by public relations manager Bob Berry, the car arrived just in time for the opening of the show with minutes to spare.
The reaction to the E-type was sensational to say the least, resulting in Jaguar contacting its in-house Test and Development Engineer Norman Dewis—who was working at the Coventry plant at that time— and telling him to ‘drop everything’ and drive a British Racing Green 3.8-liter roadster registered ‘77 RW’ overnight from the Coventry plant to Geneva.
Both cars were also used for media road tests, which proved the car’s outstanding performance –including its 240kmph top speed – matched its jet aircraft-inspired character lines sculpted by aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer with the aid of a wind tunnel.
“The Jaguar E-type is a genuine icon, as sensational today as the moment it was unveiled in 1961,” said Dan Pink, director of Jaguar Classic. “It’s testament to the E-type’s advanced design and engineering that it can still be enjoyed and admired as passionately almost 60 years on.”
“The E-type 60 Collection is a lasting tribute for E-type admirers, honoring the car’s legacy and the achievements of the team that created it – many of whom have descendants working for Jaguar Classic today, expertly restoring, maintaining and future-proofing enjoyment for generations to come,” he added.
Each unit in the E-type 60 Collection to be built by the Jaguar Classic team will be an existing 1960s 3.8-liter E-type fully-restored to exclusive 60th anniversary tribute specification.
Inspired by the first two E-types, Each E-type 60 Collection pair will include one Flat Out Grey ‘9600 HP’ coupe and one (pun intended) Drop Everything Green ‘77 RW’ roadster, with unique paint finishes exclusively formulated for the collection. The cars will also feature a number of 60th anniversary commemorative design details developed with Jaguar Design Director Julian Thomson.
Though the E-type is not sold locally, we do have its successor, the F-type, available brand new for a price range of PHP6.19 to 15.59 million.
Photo/s from Land Rover
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