1966 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 'Quad Headlamp' Coupe

Lot details
Registration No: KBP559D
Chassis No: 1E21103

- 1 of only three quad light e-types built

- Said to handle very well

- Showing a recorded 25256 credible miles

- Built to special order with a tuned engine, Abbey Panels modified 'quad headlamp / shark gill' bonnet, Koni shock absorbers, competition wire wheels and Restall seats

- Supplied new by P.S. Nicholson Ltd of Forres to Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the 6th Earl of Cawdor

- Inspired by the similarly bespoke Fixed Head Coupe made for Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin who was president of the RSAC and Ecurie Ecosse at the time

- Just three such 'quad headlamp / shark gill' E-Type bonnets are thought to have been fabricated by Abbey Panels with Sir William Lyons giving his blessing to the project

- Accident damaged in 1967 but retained by the Cawdor family until 2003 when it entered the current ownership

- Extensively restored by the vendor and the veteran of numerous rallies. Said to be a 'very good driving car with excellent road holding'

- 'Matching' chassis and engine numbers

- Showing a recorded 25256 credible miles

Enzo Ferrari was famously uncompromising and certainly not prone to praise of man or machine - unless, of course the subject in question was a 'Prancing Horse'. A rare exception was his oft-quoted description of Jaguar's E-Type as 'the most beautiful car in the world'. He was obviously far from alone in this thought, which is perhaps why most owners tend to restrict their customising to bringing the mechanicals in step with modern levels of performance and safety, and leave the lines so skilfully penned by Malcolm Sayer all those years ago to speak for themselves. There have, of course been a few notable exceptions, of which 'KBP 559D' is certainly one of the most beguiling.

A Series 1 4.2 Coupe, chassis 1E21103 was built to the (very) special order of Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the 6th Earl of Cawdor, and reputedly left Jaguar's Browns Lane factory in November 1965 complete with: a balanced and tuned engine, Koni dampers, competition wire wheels, Restall seats and a Webasto sunroof. Its first stop was to Abbey Panels, who were responsible for adding the 'shark gill' louvres on the rear of the front wings and distinctive quad headlamp arrangement; the open design of which predated the similar style the factory adopted for its single-headlamp Series 2 model. Once complete, the very special Jaguar was suppled to Rossleigh of Aberdeen for delivery to his Lordship by his local Jaguar agent, P S Nicholson of Forres.

Interestingly, the quad light arrangement of this E-Type, though ultra-rare, is not unique and was in fact the second of three such builds. The first was to the order of Sir William Gordon-Cumming, a relation by marriage of Lord Cawdor. According to the Lord's then wife, the two men were 'terrible copycats' and on seeing Sir Williams E-Type, Lord Cawdor pronounced he would have one exactly the same. And indeed he did, but not for long. History relates that his Lordship was a pretty hairbrained driver and crashed a number of Ferraris and Jaguars. This car was no exception and he nearly killed himself in it en route between Scotland and his estate in Wales - indeed, the crash was apparently so severe he was ejected through the sunroof. So, just 18 months after it had first taken to the roads, this now very sad-looking Jaguar was transported back to Scotland and laid to rest in a shed, where it remained until finally rescued by the vendor some 15 years ago.

The car had rolled and was in a very bad way, but with a lot of patience and two years of hard work he triumphantly brought it back to life. "The shed it had been in wasn't terribly good and it had rusted from the floor up, so I replaced what I needed to. The bonnet was crumpled, so I built the special Abbey Panels parts into a new one. It's worth noting that Lord Cawdor had been travelling so fast he'd locked up one rear wheel long enough to completely remove the tread. The car's mechanics were pretty good, however. The engine was a bit seized so I honed the bores, and replaced whatever other items needed renewing and it's all been fine."

Now the veteran of numerous rallies and very smartly presented in Black with a Black leather interior, this extraordinary matching numbers E-Type is said by the vendor to be 'a very good driving car with excellent road holding', and he is making it available at No Reserve . A truly unique opportunity for big cat lovers everywhere.