SOLD It's hard to imagine how any car can be more beautiful than the E-Type - designed by Malcolm Sayer and Sir William Lyons, this perfectly functional design also happened to be one of the most beautiful artistic expressions ever made, on par with Mozart's Magic Flute, Shakespeare's Hamlet, or Van Gogh's Starry Night. It's as though the shape has always existed, even before Sayer penned it around Sir William's underpinnings. The car can not only stop traffic, it can leave observers in a befuddled state, not really sure what to do after having their breath swept away unexpectedly just by the way a car looks. It really is that gorgeous. Enzo Ferrari himself, upon seeing the E-Type for the first time in 1960, proclaimed it to be the most beautiful car ever made.
The E-Type went through three identifiable series - type 1, 2, and 3. The Series 1 is beloved for being the most pure and beautiful, while the Series 2 is considered the most reliable and drivable. The Series 3 is not exactly hated, but you're not going to hear a lot of love from Jaguar purists about them.
This late Series 2 has a beautiful story, complete with all documentation since new - the gentleman purchased it as part of the Armed Forces car import program, and saved every correspondence and document pertaining to the purchase and eventual importation. Some of the letters read like something from a history novel, including a dock strike holding up the process, and a final sailing on the Steamship "Atlantic Saga." Additionally, records are present for a full mechanical rebuild of the engine and transmission for more than $20K just a little over a year ago.
The gentleman who purchased this car expected to drive it for 2-3 years and sell it for what he paid. Instead, he owned it for 43K miles and 50 years - a testament to the charm and loyalty an E-Type inspires in the people who own and drive them. If health didn't force the issue, the gentleman would still be driving it for years to come.
Full review and test drive by Bill. SOLD