Jaguar E-Type S3 V12 Manual Coupe

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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. 

Much better proportioned than the earlier 2+2 E-Types, it had a beautifully muscular form and was easily a match for anything that the Italians had to offer and is still surprisingly undervalued by comparison.

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.

Despite its size and complexity, the V12 has also got an enviable reputation for unburstable reliability. In manual form, the 0 - 60mph benchmark 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 British Racing Green example has the desirable manual gearbox and has only covered some 39,700 miles from new in the hands of just five owners. As documents in the substantial history file confirm, it was supplied new via HR Owen of London to Roger Caton of Wolverhampton in August 1973 with 9 stamps in the original Passport to Service book up to 30,032 miles in May 2009.

With just two owners since 1990, it has only been very sparingly used by both of them, clocking up less than 1,000 miles in the last five years. In 2009 it received a fair amount of expenditure including a new exhaust fan-tail, a Toad security system, an uprated starter motor and a new carpet set. Other documents suggest that the bodywork had previously received some light restoration in the early 1990s.

In November last year it was treated to a major bout of fettling when many engine seals and gaskets were replaced (so it does not leak oil); all four rear shocks were fitted with new springs to restore the correct ride height; the front wheels were aligned; it was serviced and had new plugs and leads fitted, the bill for this lot being £1,758.

Appearing to be in very smart condition throughout and driving beautifully as we manouevred it for these pictures, it is currently on SORN but has an MOT until August. Fitted with a Webasto sunroof for open air summer motoring, this low-mileage matching numbers E-Type looks excellent value at the guide price suggested.