Jaguar E-Type S3 V12 Roadster

Launched in 1971, the Series 3 V12 was the last and most luxurious of the E-Type range with a wider track, longer wheelbase, bigger tyres, revised suspension and a more spacious cockpit. 

Weighing just a few pounds more than the smaller XK 4.2 engine it replaced, the alloy blocked 5.3-litre V12 produced only slightly more power (272 instead of 265bhp) but vastly more torque (349 instead of 283lb/ft). This results in a quite different driving experience: gone is the XK snarl, replaced by quiet thunder and a sense of huge momentum in place of raw acceleration. In manual form, 0-60mph is dispatched in just 6.3 seconds and 145mph is only a squeeze of the right foot away – even today, it is hard to imagine a more desirable car in which to cross a continent.

This V12 Roadster dates from 1972 and was originally owned by car designer William Towns, most famous for penning the gorgeous Aston Martin DBS and the futuristic AM Lagonda. A pioneer of the ‘flying wedge’ style that so caught the mood of the 70s, Towns was asked to re-body a V12 Roadster that had been crashed by hill climb champion Jim Thomson.

By using the simple expedient of bonding glassfibre panels onto the existing bodywork of Thomson’s E-Type (having removed the damaged bonnet and boot-lid first), Towns came up with the extraordinary Guyson E12 (Guyson being the name of Thomson’s shot blasting business). The engine was tuned to 350bhp and when pitted against a Ferrari Daytona by Motor magazine in 1974, the Guyson came out on top.

Towns was so pleased with the result that he decided to convert his own E-Type into a Guyson, but without the tuned engine. His plan was to offer the conversion to other E-Type owners for around £2,000 on top of the V12’s £3,500 list price, but when he learned that the XJS was to replace the E-Type in 1975 he abandoned the idea and only the two Guysons were ever made.

With just six owners in total, this fascinating car has long since been converted back to standard specification but comes with a detailed history file outlining its extraordinary past. Recently unearthed after several years in storage, the car has just been fully recommissioned and is said to drive beautifully with a long MOT. It will certainly give its lucky new owner something to talk about down at the pub – especially if they convert it back to the groovy Guyson shape!