Photo: Bonhams
Car and non-car people alike know that one of the classiest classic cars around is the unmistakable Jaguar E-Type. Maybe it’s the badge or maybe it’s its long hood, but there’s no denying the E-Type has a certain something about it. After all, everyone wants one, even if they’re needed to pony up $7.37 million for it.
After an Ecurie Ecosse D-Type set the record for the most expensive British car ever sold at auction ($21.78 million), another British racer follows suit. E-Type chassis no. S 850667 was recently sold for $7.37 million by Bonhams at the 2017 Scottsdale Auction, which makes it the most expensive Jaguar E-Type there’s ever been. And boy, what a marvelous leaping car it is.
Unlike 3.8- and 4.2-engined Series 1 models, this fellow here is a Lightweight Competition model with a fair bit of racing history under its belt. Only 12 such E-Types were ever built, this one boasting just three owners from new. Never disassembled or rebuilt, the biggest bragging right of chassis no. S 850667 is that Bob Jane won the 1963 Australian GT Championship with this car.
Compared to the regular E-Type, the Lightweight in Competition flavor weighs approximately 250 pounds less. The diet comes courtesy of extensive use of aluminum, as well as a no-frills cabin. Under the hood, the 3.8-liter XK6 engine features gas-flowed cylinder heads, trumpet tips for the S.U. carburetors, and many more go-faster modifications. Lucas fuel injection and dry-sump lubrication further this old-school racecar’s sporting credentials.
On a good day, the 3.8-liter all-alloy DOHC inline-6 can crank out 293 horsepower at 5,750 rpm. It’s no wonder, then, that this marriage of lightness and a strong powertrain enabled Bob Jane to take his E-Type to the uppermost step of the podium in 1963. In late 1980, the Australian racecar driver offered his pride and joy at auction. Bob Jane later commented that selling off chassis number S 850667 was the biggest regret of his life.
On an ending note, it should be highlighted that the estimate on this vehicle was $7.5 to $8.5 million. In other words, the $7.37 million hammer price is just under the lowermost estimate. Still, that's a lot of money anyway.
Unlike 3.8- and 4.2-engined Series 1 models, this fellow here is a Lightweight Competition model with a fair bit of racing history under its belt. Only 12 such E-Types were ever built, this one boasting just three owners from new. Never disassembled or rebuilt, the biggest bragging right of chassis no. S 850667 is that Bob Jane won the 1963 Australian GT Championship with this car.
Compared to the regular E-Type, the Lightweight in Competition flavor weighs approximately 250 pounds less. The diet comes courtesy of extensive use of aluminum, as well as a no-frills cabin. Under the hood, the 3.8-liter XK6 engine features gas-flowed cylinder heads, trumpet tips for the S.U. carburetors, and many more go-faster modifications. Lucas fuel injection and dry-sump lubrication further this old-school racecar’s sporting credentials.
On a good day, the 3.8-liter all-alloy DOHC inline-6 can crank out 293 horsepower at 5,750 rpm. It’s no wonder, then, that this marriage of lightness and a strong powertrain enabled Bob Jane to take his E-Type to the uppermost step of the podium in 1963. In late 1980, the Australian racecar driver offered his pride and joy at auction. Bob Jane later commented that selling off chassis number S 850667 was the biggest regret of his life.
On an ending note, it should be highlighted that the estimate on this vehicle was $7.5 to $8.5 million. In other words, the $7.37 million hammer price is just under the lowermost estimate. Still, that's a lot of money anyway.
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