E-Type

Jaguar had left works racing in 1956 with the D-Type's construction proven. The E-Type carried it to the road: a monocoque tub, a bolted front subframe, Malcolm Sayer's calculated ellipses, and Bob Knight's new independent rear suspension. At Geneva in March 1961 the roadster cost £2'097 including tax — an Aston Martin cost roughly twice as much, a Ferrari three times.

The launch tests printed 149 to 150 mph from factory-prepared press cars on racing tyres; honest customer cars ran slower, and nobody cared. The 4.2 of October 1964 brought torque, an all-synchromesh gearbox and better seats behind the unchanged shape; the long-wheelbase 2+2 of 1966 added occasional seats and the first automatic. From 1967 American regulation opened the headlights and leaned the US engines — the transitional cars collectors call Series 1½, then the Series 2 of 1968.

The Series 3 of 1971 put Jaguar's new 5.3-litre V12 into the long floor and made the E-Type a grand tourer; the last car was built in June 1974, closing at about 72'500 cars. The shape never left the culture: MoMA took a 1963 roadster as only the third automobile in its collection in 1996, and in 2014 Jaguar completed the six unused Lightweight chassis numbers as continuation cars.