The car that Enzo Ferrari called “the most beautiful car in the world” is having a Golden Anniversary party this year and everyone’s invited!
This year’s Silverstone Classic on July 22-24 will be one of the premier venues for the Jaguar E-Type’s 50th birthday celebrations. Launched in 1961, the legendary E-Type remains one of the most iconic, elegant and revered sports cars of all time. Its golden anniversary will be honored with a host of special races and displays at the world’s biggest classic motor racing festivals, concours and auto shows.
The company will also mark this anniversary at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and then the 2011 New York International Auto Show, where the first E-type respectively made its' world and US debuts. This global celebration will continue with activities at the Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Nurburgring Old Timer Grand Prix, Monterey Historics, and at customer, club, dealer and lifestyle events worldwide.
Jaguar clubs in the UK have chosen the 2011 Silverstone Classic as the number one event worldwide to mark the E-Type’s 50th. They are forecasting the greatest showing of Jaguar E-Types ever assembled, with owners bringing their cherished “cats” from around the world.
Adding to the festivities, the weekend’s busy on-track schedule includes two races dedicated solely to competition versions of the Jaguar E-Type. With nearly 90 cars already registered with the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC), a record grid of more than 50 race-prepared E-Types is predicted.
“The response has been remarkable with huge interest from the UK as well as abroad,” reports Grahame White, Chief Executive of the HSCC. “
“As the Silverstone Classic is held on the full Grand Prix circuit we will be able to start what’s almost certain to be the biggest grid of E-Types of all time. It promises to be a fabulous celebration.”
The E-type’s DOHC straight-six engine had powered Jaguar to five Le Mans victories in the 1950s and by 1961, in 3.8-litre form, produced 265 horsepower and 260 pound-feet torque. The E-Type is capable of 150-mph performance and, like its XK120 predecessor, was in its day the fastest production car in the world.
“Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type,” said Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director Jaguar Cars and Chairman Jaguar Heritage. “It was a sensation when it was launched, and remains Jaguar's most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguar's founder, Sir William Lyons.” E-Type owners included celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Brigitte Bardot, and Tony Curtis. This sports car became as synonymous with the Swinging Sixties as the Beatles and the miniskirt!
Highlighting the legendary Jaguar’s central role at this year’s Silverstone Classic, one of the very first Jaguar E-Types produced will be on the grid at Silverstone. This historic car, the 11th Jaguar E-Type made (chassis number 850011) will be one of many contesting the two HSCC E-Type Challenge races at the Silverstone Classic in July.
Early pre-production E-Types were sold to selected customers who would race them, gaining valuable promotion for the marque. This car went to George Wicken, a successful Formula 2 driver who raced it throughout 1961 against the likes of Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori and Bruce McLaren, above, and was one of only two E-Types entered for the 1961 TT at Goodwood. Driven by owner Gary Pearson, it now competes successfully in historic racing events.
An amazing mix of famous competition cars will be racing alongside E-Types at the 2011 Silverstone Classic. A Maserati 250F from the 1950s, regarded by many as the finest Grand Prix car of all generations, as well as one of the famous V12 Silk Cut Jaguar XJR9s, above, that took the Jaguar marque back to victory at Le Mans in 1988 will be on the grid at Silverstone.
“It is impossible to overstate the impact the E-Type, above, had when it was unveiled in 1961,” said Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director. “Here was a car that encapsulated the spirit of the revolutionary era it came to symbolize. The E-Type is a design that even today continues to inform the work we do in styling the Jaguars of the future.”
A total of 72,520 E-Types were produced of which 83 percent were exported, including 43,765 delivered to the U.S. and sold as the XK-E.
For more information about Jaguar E-Type club celebrations and activities, please visit, http://www.e-typeclub.com/
For more information about 2011 Jaguar high-performance vehicles, please visit, http://www.jaguar.com/us/en/#/xk/
or http://www.jaguar.com/us/en/#/
For more information about Silverstone and its many enthusiast automotive programs and events, please visit, http://www.silverstone.co.uk/experiences/driving-days/