A pair of ultra-rare 1961 Jaguar E-Types went up for auction over the weekend, both with estimated selling prices of between £900,000 ($2.12 million) and £1.4 million ($2.97 million).
But why the steep price tags? Every Jaguar E-Type out there is highly desirable, but these two specific examples are even more coveted.
The first is a 1961 coupe with chassis number 860001. E-Types from 1961 famously feature bonnet latches on the outside instead of the passenger compartment in later iterations. Only 24 examples come with this quirk, and just four come in a right-hand drive layout.
The auctioneer, Gooding & Company, says the vehicle left the factory floor on 10 July, 1961. It comes in an opalescent dark blue finish. Originally used as a model unit by a UK-based Jaguar distributor, it eventually went to a Jaguar historian in 1977, who had kept it for over two decades before giving it up to the current owner.
That owner then commissioned a restoration and has since been driven a healthy amount, even completing two 17-hour drives from the UK to Geneva, Switzerland, in 2011 and again in 2021. It has been tested at speeds of up to 235 km/h.
The winning bidder will reportedly receive copies of factory records, articles and magazines featuring the vehicle, archival photos, a Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate, and paperwork detailing the restoration and maintenance process.
The second is a 1961 roadster that is technically the first E-Type ever sold.
Chassis number 850004 was the personal vehicle of legendary Le Mans Team Manager and Jaguar managing director Frank “Lofty” England and was the fourth RHD E-Type Roadster built.
While England drove 850004 as his personal car, he regularly loaned it for press coverage and publicity events, and it appeared in numerous print articles in 1961.
It became a familiar sight in various racing paddocks, and legendary driver Graham Hill was photographed with it, wearing the day’s laurels of a 1st Place victory in another E-Type.
England later sold the car to his friend Thomas E.B. “Tommy” Sopwith, founder of Equipe Endeavour, the British Saloon Car Championship team. Sopwith drove the Jaguar for several years before selling it to noted race driver Michael Parkes.
By 1971, the car was in need of reconditioning, and was taken to K.S. Mather Engineering in St. Helens, UK, for extensive work. Mr. Mather later assumed ownership in 1975, and it was to remain in his shop in a disassembled and deteriorated state until it was sold to the current owner in 2002 and treated to a complete restoration.
While the coupe failed to sell at auction (and is currently listed for sale at £950,000 or NZ$2.01 million, if you are keen), the roadster sold for a massive £911,250 (NZ$1.93 million).