Discussion
Bloody hell them E Type are just a little fast aren't they. I had one tonight blast past me so I thought I would do the right thing and have a closer look, I could just about keep up, and the noise the car was making was glorious , well it's not everyday you get to see one of these car going flat out, it was a privilege to witness, made my night that did.
I've just bought an XJ6 with the same engine had had my preconceptions blow away. That's fast enough (you'd have to push my BMW 328i very hard indeed to keep up) so with a manual gearbox, triple carbs and little less weight E-types must be pretty quick. Imagine what they were like in 1961 when most people were driving round in 850cc Mini's and sports cars had 70odd bhp.
I had a play with a red E Type just outside Petworth last year. Overtook in my Elise and then he hung on very well for a couple of miles. I was surprised how quick it was through a few sweeping bends. Was quite fun until I had to brake quite hard for another car pulling out which hadn't seen me - quick mental calculations of how effective 1960s brakes + narrow tyres would be had me watching my mirrors!! Fortunately he had left a sensible gap 
poo at Paul's said:
150mph werent they? A lot on skinny crossplys!!
Not so hot as modern stuff on the turns mind!!
Not in original spec they weren't. The famous top speed test was rigged with a tweaked car. But they are great cars, suffered a bit from bloat in later versions though. Would love a lightweight!Not so hot as modern stuff on the turns mind!!
ChevronB19 said:
Not in original spec they weren't. The famous top speed test was rigged with a tweaked car. But they are great cars, suffered a bit from bloat in later versions though. Would love a lightweight!
The early ones were good for about 125mph, which was fecking fast 50 years ago, and braked well. Didn't handle that well, and had zero rust proofing. Looked like sex on wheelsWreckedGecko said:
My father had one a few years ago. A 4.2 V12 '73 I think. Was great fun, but more then a bit squishy in the corners. I managed to munch the auto gearbox after a "spirited" drive one afternoon. I stil dont think he has forgiven me.
The '73 would have been the 5.3 V12. Earlier ones were 3.8, then 4.2 straight sixes. Glorious things those XK engines were! I had a blast with on around 1996. It was an Old English White FHC and a V12 and I was in my 1985 Corvette. We covered many a high speed mile and I was quite surprised by how well it went north of 120mph. I passed him eventually when he pulled off. It was nice to observe it in action (unlike a later V12 XJS in a similar scenario which died with a shower of sparks from the exhaust).
eldar said:
The early ones were good for about 125mph, which was fecking fast 50 years ago, and braked well. Didn't handle that well, and had zero rust proofing. Looked like sex on wheels
They were relatively cheap as well, £2100 at launch. In todays money that's BMW Z4 territory rather than XK8.Baz Tench said:
The '73 would have been the 5.3 V12. Earlier ones were 3.8, then 4.2 straight sixes. Glorious things those XK engines were!
Funny thing is I have a picture somewhere of the 4.2 and V12 badge on the back, but according to Wikipedia etc, the S3 V12s were all 5.3... Strange. Will have to ask the old man. That it was a V12 I am certain of, but then thats quite a bit eaiser to tell then the capacity! WreckedGecko said:
Baz Tench said:
The '73 would have been the 5.3 V12. Earlier ones were 3.8, then 4.2 straight sixes. Glorious things those XK engines were!
Funny thing is I have a picture somewhere of the 4.2 and V12 badge on the back, but according to Wikipedia etc, the S3 V12s were all 5.3... Strange. Will have to ask the old man. That it was a V12 I am certain of, but then thats quite a bit eaiser to tell then the capacity! LuS1fer said:
WreckedGecko said:
Baz Tench said:
The '73 would have been the 5.3 V12. Earlier ones were 3.8, then 4.2 straight sixes. Glorious things those XK engines were!
Funny thing is I have a picture somewhere of the 4.2 and V12 badge on the back, but according to Wikipedia etc, the S3 V12s were all 5.3... Strange. Will have to ask the old man. That it was a V12 I am certain of, but then thats quite a bit eaiser to tell then the capacity! There were two 6 litre engines, the TWR one used in a very few Jaguar XJS's in the late 1980's and the 'normal' Jaguar 6 litre used in the later XJS's and the X300/XJ40 variant XJ12/daimler double 6.
Other sizes have been made by Jaguar and others for racing, certainly up to 7.3 litre is possible.
Interesting stuff:
http://www.jagweb.com/aj6eng/v12_performance.php
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