The Jaguar e type is one of the most iconic cars in history. It was a car that brought a distinctly British image to motor racing and had an enormous impact on the music scene in the 1960s.
What makes the jaguar e-type for sale so popular was that it had a distinct, sleek design. It was aerodynamic, which meant that it was very efficient in terms of fuel usage and CO2 emissions.
It was also a very quick car, thanks to the XK engine that it was fitted with. The engine was a specially designed inline six cylinder that had been developed by Claude Bailly, William Heynes and Walter Hassan for the XK120 back in 1948.
The Story Behind the Design of the Jaguar E-Type
The engine was designed to produce 160bhp and it went on to be used in the XK140, XK150 and XK250 that followed in 1954, 1957 and 1961 respectively. The XK engine is one of the most important engines in Jaguar’s long history and has been an inspiration to many other manufacturers, who have designed their own versions using the same block.
However, it was not intended as a racing car and in fact only a few of the cars made in this period ever saw action in classic races. Its lightweight body shell and uprated power unit were not good enough to make it competitive at Le Mans in this era, where Ferrari did much better.
As the e type was intended to be a road car it is surprisingly light and direct, making it a great driver’s car. The steering is small and has a fairly heavy return, but this gives the car excellent directional stability.