1965 Jaguar

Allegedly, Enzo Ferrari once said the Jaguar E-Type was the most beautiful car in the world. If he made the statement is debatable, but the impact is undeniable.

Its good looks travelled far too, sales in the US as the “XKE” resulted in celebrity ownership that bred a culture of desire that surrounded and continues to surround the E-Type. Despite its comparative lack of rarity, they built a lot of E-Types after all, demand has remained steadfast.

Whilst early E-Types had to make do with a 3.8-litre straight six, by the mid-1960s, Jaguar bored that unit out to 4.2-litres. The result was a more powerful and more driveable car, at launch a fixed-head coupe or FHC model was released as well as an open-two seater.

This particular car lived most of its life across the pond in the United States. Supplied new there, it was imported to the UK by its current owner. The car is currently Irish (EU) registered but it can be registered by us in the UK again for no cost to the buyer.

Externally, the car is finished in Gloss Black, it’s a solid colour choice, the black paintwork draws the focus to the E-Types long bonnet and rear haunches and helps to highlight details that might otherwise be missed. The wire wheels are wrapped in a matching set of Toyo Proxes tyres.

The paintwork has a deep shine and presents well however there are marks dotted around the car. The door shuts aren’t perfect either. The car was subject to a restoration in the UK by Alders Classics in Norfolk, where the car was stripped to bare metal and repainted.

The interior was also attended to by the team at Alders. The seats, centre console, door cards and boot load areas are trimmed in Tan hide trim kit, whilst the top dash is covered in black leather the carpet is an edge-bound beige set. The trim kit has been fitted averagely, not the best but also not terrible. Years of driving have left an ineffaceable story, carefully worn-in switches and wood-rim steering complete the interior. A handful of upgrades have been made too for creature comforts, namely a Retrosound head unit that allows for Bluetooth audio playback.

Under the long, front-hinged bonnet you’ll find a 4.2-litre Jaguar straight-six, with the numbers to match the plate affixed in the engine bay. The engine bay and engine itself gleam like a diamond. This is thanks to the engine being removed for a full engine bay tidy, and refresh.

The work was undertaken by Vulcan Classics, and involved carefully removing the engine and transmission, the strip-down included a replacement clutch kit too. Aluminium components were carefully polished to a high shine, a stainless steel exhaust was fitted, and the engine itself was re-sealed, repainted and returned to its home.

This E-Type has had an impressive roster of work completed since its arrival in the UK;

Exterior Bare Metal Respray and Exterior Refresh - Alders Classics

Interior Retrim in Luxurious Tan Hide - Alders Classics

Carburettor rebuild, replacement distributor and services - Alders Classics

Suspension, brake and underside overhaul - Alders Classics

Replacement clutch kit and resurfaced flywheel - Vulcan Classics

Replacement uprated alternator and wiring - Vulcan Classics

Engine and engine bay refresh - Vulcan Classics

Stainless steel exhaust system - Vulcan Classics

Since arriving with us, we have fitted a new set of rear dampers, a new glovebox, a new heater motor and a new wiper motor along with a park mechanism mounted under the dash.

The car now has a rattling clutch release bearing and weeping rear main oil seal (both jobs require taking the engine out and splitting it from the gearbox so two birds one stone!). Factoring in these jobs that are needed and the overall “average-to-good” condition of the restoration, you may now understand the asking price! Overall, the car looks fantastic from 10 feet and really does drive very well indeed.

E-types are the quintessential classic car, but often they have been subject to restorations that take them to a position where they are almost unusably nice, and that shouldn’t always be the case for a car. Cars were designed and built to be driven, to create memories and experiences and you can do that with this car.

As with all our vehicles, a full digital folder is available on request containing more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history. The car can also be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.