- Historic Jaguar E-Type Coupe up for Auction
- Remarkable History of £1 Purchase and Restoration
- Rare E-Type Roadster Also Set for Auction
The first production with right-hand propulsion The Jaguar E-Type coupé is anticipated to garner up to £1.4 million at auction, even though the current owner purchased it for just £1 in 1998.
The vendor purchased the 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupé from Jaguar author and historian Philip Porter for a nominal sum.
He is now selling the vehicle alongside another rare early convertible model – the first production E-Type to be sold – at Gooding & Co’s London auction on 1 September as ‘two of the UK’s automotive Crown Jewels.
The coupe bears license plate 1 VHP and has been meticulously restored to concour condition. In addition to being the first right-hand drive outside bonnet coupé to be manufactured. This Jaguar is also the only extant chassis number one E-Type of its type (chassis 860001).
It cost me £1 in 2000 and required me to restore 9600 HP, the oldest E-Type.
The owner, who has amassed a world-class car collection, added, ‘Who knows how many famous individuals sat in 1 VHP during its six-month stint as a demonstrator model in London?
It is beautiful, performs superbly, and is the first of its kind. That is the pinnacle of excellence. Only one number one exists.
This historically significant Jaguar was completed on July 10, 1961, in opalescent dark blue with a red leather interior, according to a spokesperson for auctioneers Gooding & Company.
Not one to restore vehicles into museum pieces, the owner participated in Norman Dewis (Jaguar test driver from 1952 to 1985) commemorative runs in 2011 and 2021, 17-hour drives from Coventry to Geneva.
The vehicle is also featured in a limited-edition book commissioned by Jaguar to commemorate the E-Type’s 50th anniversary.
The car aficionado is also selling his 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster, chassis 850004. Which is the first production E-Type ever sold, according to the auction catalog. It is anticipated to sell for £1,200,000.
Jaguar’s legendary racing team manager, Frank Raymond Wilton ‘Lofty’ England, was its first proprietor.
Lofty, who supervised five Le Mans victories, assigned the earliest E-Types to their original owners and selected one for himself.
Gooding & Company said, “The car, famously registered as 1600 RW, was the very first E-Type produced and sold.” Lofty used 850004 as his vehicle and loaned it multiple times for press coverage and public relations events.
In 1961, it was featured in numerous articles and became a common sight in racing paddocks.
