When someone asks if you'd like to drive their Jaguar E-Type, you say yes. A few months back, I was talking to Road & Track contributor Jamie Kitman about English sports cars, and he offered to let me drive his E-Type on an upcoming old-car get-together with some friends. He's a nice guy like that.
This car is like a celebrity. You feel like you know it, even if you don't. But just like you can't truly know someone only by reading their autobiography, you can’t know a car without driving it. With that in mind, I took Kitman up on his offer. The E-Type would've burned itself into our collective consciousness on looks alone, but mechanically, it's equally wondrous. Semi-monocoque construction, stylish aerodynamics, innovative independent rear suspension, and disc brakes, all powered by one of the finest straight-six engines ever devised. The people who created the E-Type had developed machines that helped the Allies win World War II, not to mention earning Jaguar six Le Mans victories by 1957. This was the best British engineering of the time, wrapped up in an exceptionally gorgeous package.
Chris Perkins
Jaguar revealed the E-Type to an unsuspecting world in 1961. Kitman's car is a 1967, painted in a color called Ascot Fawn. This is what enthusiasts call a “Series 1.5” model, a transitional era made only in 1967 and 1968 before a full redesign came in 1969. It lost the Series 1's glass headlight covers, dashboard toggle switches, and triple carburetor setup, but not much else. If you can find one, a Series 1.5 is a great buy—you get all the style of an ultra-desirable 1965-1967 Series 1 4.2-liter E-Type, without the hefty price tag. The tradeoffs are insignificant.
After years of sorting, Kitman's car is in good health. It fired right up with no choke, and while it took me a while to find reverse—it's next to first, but you really have to shove it in—it's actually fairly easy to drive. It's also small. The proportions make an E-Type seem big at a distance, but by modern standards, it feels quite small on the road. And unlike, say, a Mercedes-AMG GT—the only new car with similar proportions—you can actually see where the hood ends on an E-Type.
I won't say wheeling an E-Type out into modern traffic isn't intimidating—this is a valuable classic, after all—but it's not difficult. Jaguar switched to a fully-synchronized four-speed gearbox in 1964, so you’re less likely to grind the gears on a Series 1.5.. By Sixties standards, the brakes are excellent, so if someone in a Honda CR-V decides to cut you off, you won't slam into them. Hypothetically, of course.
Chris Perkins
What really makes the E-Type a joy to drive is the engine. This 4.2-liter has serious grunt, so you don't need to weld your foot to the floor to keep up with anyone. Even by modern standards, this feels like a quick car. You start to get an idea of just how exhilarating this car must have been in the mid-Sixties. And why these things, when tuned properly, are still a force to be reckoned with in historic racing.
The great thing about an E-Type is how it brightens nearly everyone’s day. No other car I've ever driven has received so much admiration, so many smiles and thumbs-ups. I felt like a better, more elegant, more sophisticated version of myself behind the wheel. And all of this goodness is accompanied by a delightful, snarly straight-six soundtrack that'll make you wish we still used carburetors.
Chris Perkins
Should you find yourself on a twisty road, you'll be delighted to know that the E-Type isn't just a good-looking cruiser. It really handles. Kitman's car is no doubt helped by Pirelli's brilliant reproduction CA67 tires, modern rubber compound in a classic tread pattern, enhancing the fundamental goodness of the chassis. I found myself braking into corners to keep the long nose settled, then adjusting the arc with the throttle. Ultimately, this is not a car for tight, technical roads; it feels right at home on long, flowing bends. You see why the E-Type is a popular choice at Goodwood. It does the British sports-car thing so well, mixing confident handling with great ride quality, flowing with the road and never feeling floaty.The E is really a perfect grand touring car. Except on a 95-degree day. Ventilation in these cars is notoriously bad, and that big XK six pumps a lot of heat into the cabin. Over a few hours of spirited driving, the car never overheated, but I came close. Let's not hold that against a brilliant car, though.
About six hours and a few hundred miles in this Jaguar taught me a lot. Primarily that the E-Type is a thoroughly excellent machine. It's easy to see how it became The Car of the Sixties.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
"type" - Google News
December 10, 2020 at 12:31AM
https://ift.tt/3qHyPeX
The Jaguar E-Type Lives Up to the Hype - RoadandTrack.com
"type" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WhN8Zg
https://ift.tt/2YrjQdq
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The Jaguar E-Type Lives Up to the Hype - RoadandTrack.com"
Post a Comment