The Story of E: Jaguar E-Type Documentary

Documentary from 1992 covering the design, development, and legacy of the Jaguar E-Type. Featuring KBY 124C & 9600 HP.

[@garthlundquist3623]

Our family owned a 1963 XKE OTS for 45 years. I was beyond fortunate that Papa let me drive it on dates in High School. Racing American Iron was the order of the day. Most muscle cars in the 1960’s and 70’s topped out around 115-120 mph. That is when I would shift into 4th gear. Too cool for school. In 2006 he gave it to me when he was too old to climb in and out of that cramped cockpit. The memories of the good times with that car over the years are priceless. Some still can’t be repeated. Thanks Papa, for sharing your prized possession with me.

[@johnmarsh2078]

How lucky can one be? My father drove a Hillman Minx automatic. My memories of that horror are adjusting the cb points every week and welding new sills on it. Had he given it to me I would have sold it immediately for anything I could get.

[@robharding4028]

I love this design, the E type is perfection as far as I'm concerned, even Enzo Ferrari thought so too !

[@ianalderton6683]

at 19 min something- that looks like Bud Cort?, who was of course Harald in the film Harald and Maud where the actor famously converted an E type to his personal taste . . .

[@hankwilliams5622]

Sayer based the E-Type shape on the D-Type. Sayer though copied Touring's 1951 Alfa-Romeo Disco Volante in everything other than the headlights. In fact, drawings of the Disco were found in Sayer's studio. Take a look at a Disco Coupe or Spider online and you tell me if I an correct.

[@Embracing01]

This was part of a series called Without Walls which I have on tape when it was shown in 1992. I remember this being uploaded to youtube awhile back but think it got removed, likely due to copyright with certain music (probably Beatles music). Love the E-Type, was my dads fav classic car, but sadly most of us will never be able to afford one with the ridiculous eye watering money they fetch now, back in the late 90s you could snap up a decent one for about 10-15 grand, now it's like 80k plus. Even replicas like the Challenger are about 40 grand now.

[@admotorvideos2984]

Exactly, if only we could go back in time and pick up a few of the classics from back in the day! You're right about the music, when I first tried to upload this I couldn't due to a the Beatles music, so I muted the audio in the affected sections and it then allowed me to upload.

[@Embracing01]

@@admotorvideos2984 Could be down to the Beatles music, but I know the Car's the Star episode about the E-Type, which just happens to use the same Beatles song it in, that they haven't been bothered to take down that as it can be found (last I checked) on youtube and has been there for ages. Seems to me that they are just picking and chose what they want to be removed, nothing to do music rights IMO.

[@Embracing01]

@@admotorvideos2984 Hi, do you know the exact date this was broadcast on?.

[@admotorvideos2984]

Looking at the video again ( I've got a 180min VHS full of various recordings from the TV), this may even have been broadcast in 1991. I'll keep digging and put a note on here if I find out anything else.

[@johnmarsh2078]

1961, when the £ really was worth £1. An E-type was £2,000 but an Austin Healey was change of £1,000, and thanks to no EEC, a Porsche 356 was over £3,500 with import duty. A Volvo P1800, the body made in Scotland and the running gear in Sweden, assembled by Jensen in Birmingham, was hit with duties and cost over £1800. No wonder joining the EEC stuffed BMC and the rest of the British manufacturers. All those cheap imports and all that lost import duty for the treasury. What a disaster! Edward Heath we'll never forgive you!

[@johngibson9463]

What relevance has the unveiling of the E type in 1961 got to do with the Beatles ? Drive my Car was released in 1965.

[@normanedwards7220]

Automobile perfection, 😊

[@beatersnbeers2145]

Why is this so depressing?

[@kevinjamesdawes7223]

What a load of pretentious shite. Cars like the e type and countach were built 40 yrs before the producers of these documentaries and light years ahead of their imagination. Everything now harks back and copies. People like this can only dream of being ahead of there time.