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Geneva Auto Show: Jaguar's 50th
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It's the 50th anniversary of one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. Michael Vaughan has just returned from the Geneva Auto Show where the Jaguar E-Type debuted in 1961.
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This is it - the 1961 Jag E-Type as it was called it in Europe or the XK-E as it was known in North America. Whatever the name it is on everyone's list as one of the most famous and desirable cars of all time. Nearly 70,000 of them in their various forms were built up until 1975.
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It was a sensation from the day it was launched at the Geneva Auto Show on March 15, 1961. At the time Enzo Ferrari allegedly said it was the most beautiful car in the world. The price in those days was 2,256 British pounds. In today's money that's about C$60,000. Today in perfect condition it's worth 200,000 pounds, or C$315,000.
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In the 1950's Jaguar was a five-time winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans. The racing department used the monocoque D-Type construction along with the well proved in-line six cylinder 'XK' engine to build a road going sports car. When the E Type arrived it had a top speed of 241 km/h and was the fastest production car in the world.
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The E Type was a symbol of the Swinging Sixties in Britain and the choice of rich car enthusiasts and celebrities in the U.S and Canada. There's an E Type on permanent display in New York's Museum of Modern Art.
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The technology was nothing like today's. Rows of toggle switches controlled the unreliable electrics from Lucas, The Prince of Darkness. The cockpit was cramped, low and very hot. You sat with the wooden steering wheel jammed right up to your chest.
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Ian Callum is Jaguar's Design Director today. He's standing beside his latest creation the Jaguar C-X75 concept car with electric motors and two tiny gas turbine engines. Callum first saw the E Type in 1961 when he was six years old and says it inspired him to become a car designer. He also says it's impossible to design a car like the E Type today because of safety regulations. The E didn't even have seat belts let alone crash protection or air bags.
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There will be a yearlong celebration of the E Type's first half century. Jag owners will have parades and shows. There's even a strong possibility that a Jaguar Museum will finally get built in Coventry, England. I expect the E Type will be the first thing inside the front door.
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