1972 Jaguar E-type

The final phase of the E-type came in April 1971 with the introduction of the Series 3 range, which featured the brand new 5.3 litre V12 engine developing 266 bhp. This engine had been designed and developed by Walter Hassan and Harry Mundy. It had originally been intended for the would-be Le Mans challenger, the XJ13 of 1966. As fitted in the 1971 E-type, the engine had a single rather than two overhead camshafts per bank. This was effectively the world’s only mass-production V12 engine at the time.

The Series 3 was offered in open two-seater and 2+2 coupé forms, with the open car now also built on the longer wheelbase. Although a manual gearbox was still available, most cars were fitted with the automatic gearbox. A manual gearbox two-seater reached a top speed of 146 mph (235 km/h) and accelerated to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.4 seconds. At a price of £3,123 at launch for the two-seater without extras, the Series 3 still represented remarkable value for money.

This car is a 1972 open-two seater and left the factory in October 1972 bound for Jaguar dealer Henly’s Limited in London.  A manual gearbox car finished in popular Signal Red with Beige leather trim.  The car is extremely original, having never been restored, and has covered thirty eight thousand miles from new – this mileage is verified by annual MOT certificates back to July 1976.  The service book documents a speedometer change at 9,385 miles carried out at the same time as works to change the axle ratio.  It is understood that the car was also converted to Weber carburettors at around the same time which gave a healthy boost to its performance, although they proved temperamental over time, in 2010 M&C Wilkinson undertook a fuel injection conversion which made the car far more useable.

The car is now available to purchase from Jaguar Classic and will be supplied with 12 months warranty and roadside assistance.