Michael Satterfield
TGR Staff
Jaguar Classic has announced a limited run of six matched pairs of E-types to celebrate the legendary sportscar’s 60th anniversary in 2021. Each pair of cars of E-Type 60 Edition cars pay homage to two of Jaguar’s most famous cars of all time ‘9600 HP’ and ‘77 RW’ the cars that were displayed in the March 1961 Geneva Auto Show. The story about driving from Coventry to Geneva overnight to get one of the first E-Types to Switzerland in time for the show has been told countless times.
An Opalescent Gunmetal Grey 3.8-litre Coupe registered ‘9600 HP’ was one of the first two E-types unveiled to specially-invited guests at the Parc des Eaux Vives. Driven ‘flat out’ to Switzerland from Coventry the night before the launch, public relations manager Bob Berry arrived with minutes to spare for demonstration drives. So many people wanted test drives that legendary Jaguar Test and Development Engineer Norman Dewis was told to ‘drop everything’ and drive a British Racing Green 3.8-litre roadster registered ‘77 RW’ overnight from Coventry to Geneva.
The cars would later be used for media road tests, the journalists would go on to heap praise on the E-Type, making it one of the most sought after cars of the 60s. E-types were owned by celebrities including Steve McQueen, Brigitte Bardot, Frank Sinatra, George Harrison, Tony Curtis, and Britt Ekland. And, thanks to the beauty of its sculptural forms, its functionality, and its impact on design, an E-type became only the third car to join The Museum of Modern Art’s design collection in 1996.
The E-type 60 Edition built at Jaguar’s Classic Works facility in Warwickshire will be an existing 1960s 3.8-litre E-type fully-restored to exclusive 60th-anniversary tribute specification. Each pair will include one Flat Out Grey ‘9600 HP’ coupe and one Drop Everything Green ‘77 RW’ roadster, with unique paint formulations exclusively reserved for these cars.
