1964 – Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Competition FHC

French registration papers
Chassis no. 886348

- Very competitive and well known car
- Eligible for major historic motorsport events
- Registered for the road

Since the end of the war, Jaguar’s cars had come to epitomise Grand Touring. The generation of XK 120, 140 and 150 roadsters had made a major contribution to the marque’s sporting image through their successes in motorsport. But time had moved on and Jaguar needed to find a distinguished successor to continue its glorious history. The Coventry firm therefore worked in the utmost secrecy on the model it would name the E-Type, in reference to the C-Type and D-Type models which had won the Le Mans 24 Hours race and many other international events … As with the XK 120, the E-Type’s first official victory came at Oulton Park in 1961, when Graham Hill won ahead of Innes Ireland’s Aston Martin DB4 GT. The following year, the brilliant sports car achieved an excellent 4th place overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Salvadori and Cunningham. The E-Type was at the front of the grid and proved a fierce competitor to the Ferraris and Aston Martins which were its main rivals. While the standard models enjoyed considerable success in national races, the lightweight versions performed better in international events. Built in tiny numbers by the factory, the lightweight versions were fitted with an aluminium engine block and all-aluminium body. As these were too expensive for many private teams, semi-lightweight versions appeared, which kept the cast-iron XK engine block, which was considered more reliable, but were fitted with aluminium body panels (bonnet, doors and boot lid).

This Jaguar E-Type was initially a road specimen, transformed at the end of the 2000s for historical competitions in the workshops of Equipe Europe. Initially intended for regularity events, the preparation of the car will be optimized to comply with FIA regulations and therefore become eligible for the historic calendar events. Jean Brandenburg will follow exactly the same trajectory as his Jaguar. He will enter the 2012 and 2014 Tour Auto in regularity, then entrust the preparation to Equipe Europe in order to enter it later in competition. The steel doors and bonnet will be replaced by aluminium ones, a 6-point roll cage is installed, as well as a circuit breaker, competition fuel tank, homologated racing seats, and all other equipment authorised by the homologation form to obtain an FIA Historical Technical Passport. Having become accustomed to historic competitions, Jean Brandenburg then enters in 2016 in the Competition category of the Tour Auto and will finish 47th overall and 10th in the GTS12 class. Still followed by the Equipe Europe workshops, this E-Type will also take part in two rounds of the Sixties Endurance at Peter Auto in 2016. It will finish 36th overall in Spa and 31st out of 74 cars starting in the Dix Mille Tours du Castellet. Between these two rounds of the championship, Jean Brandenburg will take his car to 30th place in the very tough grid 4 at Le Mans Classic. But it is indeed in 2017 that this car will sign its best result with a second place in the general classification of the Tour Auto in Competition category, behind the Ford GT 40 of the British drivers Andrew Smith and James Cottingham. Over the years, this car has the advantage of having been driven cleanly and of having been followed by the Equipe Europe workshops throughout its career in historic competitions. In good working order, this E-Type 3.8 FIA coupé will nevertheless need a complete overhaul before going back on track and its Historic Technical Passport will need to be renewed. Offered at an attractive estimate, this well-known E-Type is waiting for its new owner to repeat its excellent performances in rallying or on the circuit.

AGUTTES on WHEELS

Gautier Rossignol
M: +33 6 16 91 42 28
@: [email protected]