Jaguar E-Type S1 3.8 'flat floor' Roadster

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When even Enzo Ferrari was moved to declare a rival product “the most beautiful car in the world”, Jaguar knew they had something special.

And although we have now had 50 years to get used to it, there is still something so pure about the shape of the original E-Type Jaguar that it still turns heads today. Its top speed of 150mph was equally amazing and with a price-tag of only £2,097 at launch, it was half the price of an equivalent Aston Martin.

The most desirable of all the E-Type variants is the Series 1 Roadster, as here. Like all the earliest cars it is fitted with the legendary 3.8-litre XK straight-six which provides a much sportier feel than the later, softer 4.2-litre engine. Quoted as developing some 265bhp and 260lb/ft of torque in standard tune, it is mated to a four-speed Moss gearbox with synchromesh on the top three ratios.

The interior of the earliest cars is also the most sporting and attractive of all the E-Type range with lightweight bucket seats and that wonderful aluminium cockpit trim which could have come straight from a WW2 fighter.

Quite apart from their sheer beauty, these are genuinely quick cars even by today’s standards, yet remain easy to live with and maintain (unlike Italian exotica) with all parts readily available and a whole army of specialists to service them. Right-hand drive 3.8 Roadsters are also surprisingly rare, with just 943 examples made in total between March 1961 and August 1964 (chassis numbers 850001 – 850943).

This particularly early ‘flat floor’ model is the 106th RHD car to leave the production line and misses out on the super-rare external bonnet catches by just 10 cars. The vendor has known of its whereabouts for many years, the car hiding under a bench in a lock-up garage. Recently acquired and exhumed, the tax disc reveals that it was last used in 1973 when it was taken off the road for restoration. As with many such projects, the work was started but never completed, the car languishing unloved for over 30 years.

The recently acquired Heritage Certificate shows that it is a genuine RHD OTS which was manufactured on 7th September 1961. Chassis number 850107 was originally fitted with engine 1661-9, although this was changed at some time in its life, the current unit being a correct E-Type 3.8 litre engine but not the original fitted to the car. The vendor has, however, managed to track down the original engine which is currently fitted to an XK150, opening up the possibility that one day, the original unit could be reunited with the car.

Originally specified in Opalescent Blue with dark blue leather and blue hood, it was dispatched on 3rd October to Henlys of London and supplied to a Mr John Sear from Hove. The accompanying buff logbook shows that it was registered 737 WPC on 6th November 1961, this number remaining on the DVLA system. It is intriguing to note that it spent nearly a month in the factory prior to dispatch which seems strange at a time when customers were literally queuing up to get their hands on William Lyon’s masterpiece – the reason for this is unclear and may merit further investigation.

Now requiring full restoration, this is a superb opportunity to acquire a very early E-Type, the ‘arms-race’ to own the lowest chassis number possible showing no signs of abating. Complete with an original works supplied hard top, this project is about as good as it gets and proves that there are still amazing finds to be had from lock-up garages around the country.