Lot details Registration No: NJJ290L Chassis No: 1551570BW Mot Expiry: July 2007
By 1971, Jaguar's jaw-dropping E-Type had been in production for a decade. Despite continual improvements, new emissions legislation in the all-important American market threatened to strangle the big cat's performance. Jaguar responded by giving its revered sports car fresh claws in the shape of a 5343cc V12 developed from the stillborn XJ13 Le Mans project car. The new engine was both effortlessly powerful and eerily refined. "The turbine-like smoothness with which the engine provides a sustained shove in the back is almost uncanny, the more so when one accelerates hard in top gear without even a gearchange to interrupt one's headlong dash into the distance". (Autocar 5th July 1973) With some 272bhp and 304lbft of torque on tap, the Series III E-Type once again had 150mph in its sights. A revised wheelbase yielded better cabin space and together with wider tracks front and rear, new anti-dive front suspension geometry and fatter tyres gave improved road holding. Imbued with a more muscular stance thanks to its flared wheelarches, re-profiled wings and larger grill, it also benefited from vented disc brakes and a restyled interior.
Finished in maroon with beige leather upholstery, this particular example is described by the vendor as being in "very good" condition with regard to its engine, three-speed automatic transmission, electrical equipment, interior trim, chassis and bodywork. Though, he judges the car's paintwork to be "fair" and its wheels / tyres "good". Boasting a full-length Webasto sunroof, 'NJJ 290L' is said to have been formerly owned by the actor Nick Berry of EastEnders and HeartBeat fame. Riding on optional wire wheels, it is believed to have covered 75,609 miles from new. An original UK supplied car with the fillip of celebrity provenance, this handsome Jaguar is offered for sale with MOT certificate valid until July 19th 2007.
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