Thursday, 26 March 2020

Car Of The Week - Jaguar E-Type


When we talk about legendary cars there are many that come to mind but amongst the top contenders is the Jaguar E-Type. The Jaguar E-Type is the most beautiful car ever made. We are going to tell you more about this truly iconic sports car.

The E-Type is a sports car that was manufactured by UK car giant Jaguar. British car manufacturer Jaguar has a rich heritage for producing sports cars which are beautifully designed and great performance as well. The Jaguar E-Type is based on the Jaguar D-Type sports car. The D-Type was a very successful car for Jaguar having won at Le Mans consecutively for three years from 1955. Beautiful design is often subjective and opinionated, however, there is no denying the Jaguar E-Type is arguably the most beautiful car ever designed.

The E-Type was launched in 1961 at the Geneva Motor Show and was the unmistakable center of attraction. The E-Type has a charm, unlike any other car, the beautiful long bonnet with a small grille and well-designed round headlamps and the coupe overhang give rise to one of the most iconic car silhouettes ever! Malcolm Sayer was the man tasked to design the E-Type under the stewardship of Sir William Lyons the owner of Jaguar. Sayer was not a car designer by profession he was an aerodynamicist and designed the car keeping the blueprint of the previous Jaguar D-Type, an intention of making the car as light and aerodynamic as possible. During the 1960s there were no modern aids such as wind tunnel tests or CAD to help car designers design cars in the most efficient manner. The fact that the E-Type was designed only using sketches is a brilliant feat of car designing! Automotive legend Enzo Ferrari, the owner of Ferrari described the E-Type as ‘the most beautiful car ever designed’…now that some serious critical acclaim for the Jaguar E-Type.

The Jaguar E-Type was available in 2 body types – coupe or convertible. The design of the car was well suited for touring and is a very highly regarded GT car. Throughout the course of its production, the car was majorly a 2-seater, however, 2+2 seat variants have also been produced in limited units. On the inside, the E-Type has a very good and welcoming elegant interior. With good quality leather upholstery and sporty design, the car creates a lot of excitement not only for the driver but also for the passenger. The E-Type is a sports car but, Jaguar has done a very good job of blending the sportiness with some class! The well laid out dashboard, steering wheel, and gearbox allow for a comfortable driving experience.

Powering the Jaguar E-Type was Jaguar’s very own XK 3.8 L straight-six petrol engine producing 265 bhp of max power output. This engine was a very popular one and got Jaguar a lot of racing success in the 1960s as well. The sporty engine along gave the car very good performance and it was capable of doing 0-100 in 6.2 seconds. Jaguar cars are known for their great driving dynamics, the E-Type exhibited this well attributed to the front and rear suspension set up on the car. The engine coupled with great driving dynamics made the Jaguar E-Type a car enthusiast’s dream!  Sports cars are specialty products and are more expensive when compared to other cars. Launched with a price of £2,097 for the convertible and £2,196 for the coupe the Jaguar E-Type was considerably more affordable when compared to cars from the likes of Ferrari, Aston Martin. Hence, Jaguar very successfully made the sports car affordable for all.  

The Jaguar E-Type was a revolutionary car that offered an amazing mix of high performance, beautiful design and, competitive pricing. The E-Type was first amongst a series of affordable sports cars globally offered by various car manufacturers. The design of the Jaguar E-Type has been so successful and popular that there are various studies and teachings done over the same to this day in design institutes the world over. The Jaguar E-Type has firmly marked its place in the car hall of fame, such is the legacy of the Jaguar E-Type – the most beautiful car in the world! 

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