When Sir William Lyons was running the show, Jaguar flourished from a sidecar-building company to a full-fledged manufacturer that won the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans five times in the 1950s. However, Jaguar’s golden age reached its zenith in 1961, the year when the E-Type stepped into the limelight.
Bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful it may be, but the E-Type was both show and age. In this regard, Jaguar created the Lightweight E-Type to go racing. An evolution of the Low Drag Coupe E-Type from 1962, only 12 examples of the Lightweight E-Type were built between 1963 and 1964. Back then, the British manufacturer allocated for production six additional chassis numbers, but those racecars were never made for whatever reason.
In 2014, however, Jaguar’s heritage division announced that it would build the six remaining cars to complete the 18-strong production run. Gifted with the unused chassis codes from the 1960s and produced to the exact specs of the original cars, Continuation Series vehicles were sold at more than $1.5 million a pop. Now, however, a highly desirable 1963 model with racing pedigree is slated to cross the Bonhams auction block at an estimate of $8.5 million.
The blue-over-white-body machine featured in the photo gallery is a real cherry. Bearer of chassis number S 850667, this leaping cat here won the 1963 Australian GT Championship with racing driver Robert Frederick "Bob" Jane behind the wheel. Often referred to as the “GTO killers” for their outright performance on the track, competition-spec Lightweight E-Types are legends in their own right. An original example with just three owners from new, this Lightweight E-Type has been out of the public eye for most of its existence.
So there you have it. If you’re in the market for a highly original British racing car, look no further than this leaping cat here. On a final note, the 2017 Bonhams Scottsdale Auction marks the first time in more than 17 years a Jaguar Lightweight E-Type has been offered for sale in the United States.
In 2014, however, Jaguar’s heritage division announced that it would build the six remaining cars to complete the 18-strong production run. Gifted with the unused chassis codes from the 1960s and produced to the exact specs of the original cars, Continuation Series vehicles were sold at more than $1.5 million a pop. Now, however, a highly desirable 1963 model with racing pedigree is slated to cross the Bonhams auction block at an estimate of $8.5 million.
The blue-over-white-body machine featured in the photo gallery is a real cherry. Bearer of chassis number S 850667, this leaping cat here won the 1963 Australian GT Championship with racing driver Robert Frederick "Bob" Jane behind the wheel. Often referred to as the “GTO killers” for their outright performance on the track, competition-spec Lightweight E-Types are legends in their own right. An original example with just three owners from new, this Lightweight E-Type has been out of the public eye for most of its existence.
So there you have it. If you’re in the market for a highly original British racing car, look no further than this leaping cat here. On a final note, the 2017 Bonhams Scottsdale Auction marks the first time in more than 17 years a Jaguar Lightweight E-Type has been offered for sale in the United States.