1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8 Roadster

The 438th right-hand drive roadster built, it was despatched on the 13th April 1962 to Henlys, Manchester

Subtly upgraded with racing head, triple Weber 45s, fast-road cams and Coopercraft front brakes

Series II synchromesh manual gearbox fitted, with the original box retained - so matching numbers

Early features include aluminium dashboard, flocked glass fibre glovebox and early heater

Presenting beautifully today the car comes from 11-year ownership, the third owner in 56 years

The history file is filled with receipts and previous MoTs that partly corroborates the 54,000 miles.

With Jaguar's racing successes in the 1950s still fresh in the memory, it's no wonder the E-Type captured the hearts and minds of a patriotic public at launch. The Series I, as it later became known, was introduced, initially for export only, in March 1961, and UK cars began to appear in showrooms some four months later in early July. The cars were initially fitted with the triple SU carburetted 3.8-litre six-cylinder Jaguar XK6 engine from the XK150S attached to a Moss (EB) 4-speed gearbox with no synchromesh on first gear which made progress in traffic a little 'musical' until the technique was mastered. Later revisions saw a bigger engine upgrade to 4.2 litres and a driver-friendly synchromesh gearbox, and the earlier cars benefitted from the installation of the later Series II synchromesh gearbox, with canny owners retaining the original gearbox to maintain matching numbers status.

According to the accompanying Heritage Certificate, this delightful E-Type, the 438th built, was despatched to Henlys of Manchester on 13th April 1962, and registered to its first owner Miss M. G. McDermott. According to V5 records, the car has only had three owners and as our vendor purchased the car from a Mr Keith Spencer of Penzance, Cornwall who had owned the car since 16th December 1982, it seems quite likely. The car has been fastidiously maintained by our vendor since he took ownership on the 14th June 2007.

The car has been subtly upgraded with a competition cylinder head, fast road cams, and triple Weber 45s by David Butcher of DJB, Coventry who has a well-established reputation for race preparing the 3.8-litre engine. 'Coopercraft' front brakes aid retardation and other upgrades include adjustable Gaz shock absorbers, 'Classic Fabs' steel exhaust, period-looking 'dynator', an uprated cooling fan, and negative earth electrics. Any early E-Type owner will confirm that, although they look just wonderful and go reasonably well, stopping, lighting and cooling were not amongst the car's strong points and this, well-engineered, car appears to have addressed all those points. The enhanced power output is also effective and Mr Spencer, the previous owner, informed our vendor that he occasionally took the car on Jaguar circuit days and achieved speeds of 150 mph with ease.

This lovely 1962 car is presented to auction in very good order with an odometer reading of some 54,000 miles, a history file bursting with receipts, older MoTs, and previous ownership records. Perhaps the quintessential E-Type- a bright red roadster, black interior, chrome wire wheels, sorted suspension, decent brakes, and a serious engine.

As they say these days “What's not to like?”