1971 Jaguar E-Type V12 Coupe

Lot details
Registration No: MCU173K
Chassis No: 1S50261
Mot Expiry: July 2012

'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, July 5, 1973

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 sportscar 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. 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 grille, it also benefited from vented disc brakes and a restyled interior.

'MCU 173K' is a 1971 model V12 E-Type Coupe finished in Red with a Black leather interior. It is a right-hand drive home market car that was purchased new by a Francis Ricardo from the then Bagshot-based collectors' car specialist Duncan Hamilton & Co. Six years later, Ricardo passed the Jaguar on to his son, who retained possession until 1984. The original bill of sale and service history provided by Hamiltons and nearby Jaguar dealer Coombes form part of the car's very detailed history file. A Philip Chalk was the next keeper, who maintained the Jaguar's thorough records and had the timing chains and valves attended to during his 8,759 mile tenure. A Mr Kimber purchased the Jaguar for one month to change the number plate in 1997, before passing it to another fastidious keeper called Hankin. It was from him that the vendor acquired the V12 in 2008, since when it has formed part of a private collection - it is apparently being ousted in favour of an XK140 SE!

Currently displaying a mileage of 85,000, the Jaguar was evidently treated to a service and replacement clutch just 2,000 miles ago. The proud vendor informs us that the E-Type's Ziebarted (rust-proofed) bodywork, paintwork, engine and four-speed manual gearbox are currently "excellent" and classes the interior trim as "exceptionally original". Riding on chrome wire wheels shod with the correct Dunlop SP tyres, the car is currently steered by a wood rim wheel (though, the original leather item is being included with it). The Jaguar is now being sold complete with the aforementioned detailed and continuous history file, which includes twenty-five past MOT certificates, the original receipt for the Webasto sunroof and even signed correspondence from the late Sir William Lyons. What's not to like?!