77 RW - oldest surviving e type roadster
Discussion
Had the honour of seeing this today and chatting to the owner.
It's the oldest surviving series one roadster and was the car that was famously driven through the night to the Geneva motorshow in 1961 for it's launch.
The owner bought it as a bit of a wreck in 1966 for, wait for it, £400. He later discovered that it was one of the earliest cars and upon contacting jaguar, they didn't believe that it still existed!
As part of the e types 40th anniversary celebrations, jaguar heritage restored the car and is now on permanent loan to them. The owner can take the car as he pleases.
It was almost humbling to see the car and hear the story
It's the oldest surviving series one roadster and was the car that was famously driven through the night to the Geneva motorshow in 1961 for it's launch.
The owner bought it as a bit of a wreck in 1966 for, wait for it, £400. He later discovered that it was one of the earliest cars and upon contacting jaguar, they didn't believe that it still existed!
As part of the e types 40th anniversary celebrations, jaguar heritage restored the car and is now on permanent loan to them. The owner can take the car as he pleases.
It was almost humbling to see the car and hear the story
A beautiful, decidedly feline car, of course. As some have noted here on PH, the E-Type even has its own permanent place at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York:
https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/how-a-car-winds-...
The story shared here, in this thread, is intriguing. Perfect for this sort of car and its position at a time when globalisation was more of a possibility than an artifact of everyday life.
I've seen that car at quite a few shows up here in the North West, and recognised the plate of course. It's often at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in August.
jontykint said:
does the fact it was a wreck 5 years after the motor show indicate the build standard or a lack of care by jag or the owners ?
Surely a fascinating story though
Wasn't there a story (which may or may not be true) that someone wrote in to Jaguar to complain about the build quality of their E-type, and got a reply along the lines of "Dear Sir, we only really sold you the bodywork as an easy way to get the engine home". I can't remember where I've read that (C&SC probably) or find it on line now.Surely a fascinating story though
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