Jaguar E-Type S3 V12 Roadster

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Not so much an engine as a symbol of national pride, Jaguar's iconic V12 remains to this day the smoothest V12 engine ever built.

Mercedes even took one apart to see how it was done but no amount of Germanic genius could replicate the turbine-like delivery of Coventry's finest powerplant. The V12 was introduced to the world in 1971 in the Series 3 E-Type – what better way to get it noticed? Visually distinguished by its wider, more aggressive mouth, flared wheelarches, broader track and purposeful quad-exhaust pipes, the S3 combined supercar performance (0-60 in 6.4 seconds and 150mph) with limousine refinement.

Uprated brakes, power steering and benign road manners made long distance cruising an effortless delight. Even today there are few finer ways to cross a continent, basking in the glow of the admiration that this fabulous car elicits from other road users.

Dating from May 1972, this striking V12 Roadster has the desirable manual gearbox which makes the most of the prodigious power on offer. Built in LHD for the American market, it appears to have led a pampered life with a rock solid structure, dead straight panels and a really well-planted stance – those chunky wire wheels with their whitewall tyres fill the arches beautifully. It looks like a 150mph machine just standing still.

As with most American imports there is precious little history with the car but our vendor, proprietor of a renowned Jaguar trim shop, personally selected it for his own use and had it shipped here in 2014 to join his collection. As it happens it has been very little used, pressures of work and that old problem ‘too many cars, too little time’ meaning that it has only covered around 500 miles in the last five years.

As the Heritage Certificate confirms, it was originally dark blue but as you can see it has been repainted black at some point which really adds to the presence of the car. Although the respray was done to a high standard, spending five years mainly covered up in storage has caused some microblistering here and there. Nonetheless it is still a most impressive car, firing up instantly and running with uncanny smoothness as we moved it around for these photos thanks, in part, to the fitment of modern electronic ignition.

Supplied with a V5C, an MOT to April 2020, four old MOTs, import papers and a copy of the US Certificate of Title, this is a most appealing E-Type all round and could be converted to RHD if desired using a kit of parts readily available from the many specialists who serve this model.