1965 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Low Drag Coupe

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 1965 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Low Drag Coupe. This car was built as a recreation of the legendary Lindner-Nöcker Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Low Drag Coupe ‘4868 WK’.

The owner of the car offered for sale is a Jaguar enthusiast who has always been passionate about E-Types in general and more specifically the Lightweight E-Type. He had a vision and wanted to build an authentic recreation of the legendary Low Drag Coupe ‘4868 WK’.

The first step was to find the right person to help him build the car. As they say all roads lead to Rome and in this case Gavin King and Concours Sportscar Restoration in Tuggerah, NSW. After a number of meetings, a deal was struck and together they embarked on a journey to build the car.

The project started in 2011 with the acquisition of the donor car, a 1965 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Litre fixed head coupe. According to the heritage certificate this factory right hand drive example was manufactured on the 29^th October 1965 and despatched on the 12^th November 1965. The original distributor is noted as Associated Automobiles in Singapore.

The body was perhaps the most important decision for this car. It had to be ‘right’. A full alloy low drag body was purchased from arguably the best in the business, Simon Dunford at Classic Jaguar Racing Ltd in the UK, for the amount of GBP 53,000. Next on the ‘to do’ list was the engine. In keeping with wanting this car to be the best it could be, the owner contacted Crosthwaite and Gardiner in the UK. The first decision was whether to purchase a complete new engine or parts to upgrade the existing engine. After lengthy discussions and weighing up the pros and cons of the various options, it was decided to keep the existing 4.2 litre engine block and upgraded it to full race spec. Major new parts included a wide angle alloy cylinder head, a new camshaft and a dry sump kit. Next a decision had to be made on whether to go for a classic setup with carburettors or a more modern setup with fuel injection. The latter was chosen and a throttle body setup was found which looked very similar to having Weber carburettors. The standard gearbox was never going to be suitable, so a new alloy cased 5 speed gearbox was purchased. All the suspension on the car was upgraded. This included fitting alloy adjustable shock absorbers front and rear as well as upgraded bushes all around, new bearings and a new 22mm front sway bar was installed. With an engine capable of delivering almost 340hp the car was going to need brakes that were up to the task of stopping the car. New 300mm vented disc rotors and alloy callipers were fitted to the front and at the rear Jaguar XJ6 callipers were fitted. To complete the look, replica Dunlop Lightweight E-Type wheels were purchased. The interior was completely retrimmed with period correct seats and for comfort, modern air conditioning was installed. The choice of colour was interesting and rather than choose the original silver or another ‘traditional colour’ such as white or British racing green, the owner decided to paint his car in ‘pearl beige’. Apparently this colour choice caused much angst with the Concours Sportscar Restoration team but the owner stood firm and wisely so. The ‘pearl beige’ is a soft gold and it looks absolutely spectacular on the car. It brings out the detail of the body and particularly all the rivets. Judge for yourself, but the pictures really do tell the story!

Needless to say, this car has had an absolute fortune spent on it

Today it is hard to find words to describe this car. Walking around the car you can only be amazed by the amount of detail. From the rivets, positioned exactly as they were on the original, to the gorgeous shape of the roof, the lines of the rear end with the ‘hips’ enclosing the Dunlop style wheels, the enclosed head lights and spot lights, the external fuel filler cap, the straps which secure the bonnet and more. Every time you walk around the car you spot another detail you hadn’t noticed before. This car could be a feature attraction in any art gallery!

This car has been used and as a result it is a fully sorted and reliable classic. Even though it has travelled 4,486 miles since it was built the paint work remains in excellent condition. There is the odd blemish here and there, but you have to look pretty hard to find them. The most noticeable cosmetic defects are to the wheels which have the odd small paint chip or light scratch. All of the external trim is in excellent condition.

Open the door and the interior is just as breath taking. The period correct seats which have been slightly modified to accommodate head rests really suit the car. Again the colour choice is perfect! The red leather upholstery with red carpets is an ideal contrast with the ‘pearl beige’ paint. Overall the interior is in excellent condition. Apart from a scuff mark on the driver’s seat bolster, the upholstery is in excellent condition.  The carpets are also in very condition and show little or no wear. The instruments and controls are in excellent condition and are in working order. We like the fact the owner has chosen to retain the original delicate timber E-Type steering wheel, which is in excellent condition, rather than replace it with a modern ‘race style’ steering wheel. The air conditioning unit has been neatly intergraded behind the seats. You hardly notice it is there but it is a very welcome addition.

Getting into the car is a little awkward, but once you are in it is very easy to make yourself comfortable. Once you are comfortable there is only one more thing to do . . . fire up that amazing Jaguar engine! Insert the key into the ignition and turn the ignition on, wait a few seconds for the fuel system to prime and then press the starter button. The engine bursts to life almost immediately and it quickly settles into a smooth idle. This is where you notice the fuel injection set up rather than carburettors. It is immediately obvious that this is definitely not a standard 4.2 litre Jaguar engine. Whilst it’s not overly loud, the noise coming from the engine and the ceramic coated stainless steel exhaust immediately tells you this car means business.

Out on the road this car will surprise you in a few different ways. There is no doubt about it, this is a seriously fast car. With a firm prod on the accelerator you are pushed back in your seat hard, really hard and all of your senses go into overload. The scenery starts rushing by at an alarming rate and that engine and exhaust ‘noise’ is totally exhilarating. Note to self “ . . . I’m on a public road and not a race track . . . just slow down a bit”! What is really surprising is that this car is really easy to drive, even at low speeds. It is quite happy cruising in traffic at 60 km/hr. The temperature gauge doesn’t move and you do feel very comfortable behind the wheel. What you do notice is that every second passer-by has someone hanging out the window of their car trying to take a photo with their smart phone. It’s easy to understand why!

Back to the driving experience . . . the gearbox is very smooth and suits the engine perfectly. The gear changes up and down are smooth and very easy. The brakes are most certainly up to the task and pull the car up efficiently and in a straight line.  The suspension is firm, bordering on hard but it is not uncomfortable. You definitely get used to avoiding the ‘cats eyes’ and the car is certainly better to drive on smoother roads. That said it rides pretty well on rougher roads also. The steering is very precise and the car handles exceptionally well.

Accompanying the car is a thick history file with invoices detailing the build of the car, a Jaguar Heritage Certificate for the donor car and sign board perfect for display!

Importantly this car retains its original build plate and the chassis number stamping on the front cross member.

This is quite simply a fabulous car and one of the most intoxicating and exciting cars that we have had the privilege to offer for sale in a very long time.

Highlights:

• a rare and highly desirable car that is an authentic tribute to the original Lindner-Nöcker Low Drag Jaguar E-Type Lightweight.
• a beautifully built and finished car by Gavin King’s Concours Sportscar Restoration in Tuggerah, NSW.
• all aluminium body shell built by Simon Dunford’s Classic Jaguar Racing in the UK.
• a Crosthwaite and Gardner aluminium wide angle cylinder head mounted to the original engine block.
• finished in a spectacular colour scheme of ‘pearl beige’ (gold) with a red interior.
• fully sorted and ready for its new owner to enjoy on the road or track.

Background

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley. In 1934 Lyons formed SS Cars Limited to effectively take over the operation from Walmsley. The SS brand was quite successful, though their cars had a reputation for having ‘more show than go’. The Jaguar name first appeared as a model name on an SS 2½ Litre Sports Saloon introduced in 1936. For political reasons, Lyons changed the name of his company to Jaguar Cars in 1945.

The SS100 built between 1936 and 1941 is today regarded as one of the great pre-war sports cars, however, it was the launch of the legendary Jaguar XK120 at the London Motor Show in 1948 that really put Jaguar on the map. The car caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and design boss William Lyons to put it into production. The XK120 morphed into the XK140 and ultimately the XK150 and in total, just over 30,000 cars were built over 15 years of production.

In 1961, at the Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar introduced the E-Type, which like the XK120 all those years ago, took the motoring world by storm. The body styling was simply gorgeous and technologically the E-Type was an engineering masterpiece and it set new standards in all areas.

Whilst automotive styling is somewhat subjective the E-Type is often ranked atop lists of ‘the most beautiful cars’ and in fact it has been described by Enzo Ferrari as ‘the most beautiful car ever made’. And it’s not just about the looks as the E-Type is often at the top of other lists such as ‘the best sports car ever built’ or ‘the most significant cars’. It is truly a motoring icon.

As a testament to the success of the E-Type, production evolved through three series from 1961 until 1974 during which time circa 70,000 cars were built.

Perhaps the greatest Jaguar ever built was the legendary D-Type, which back in the day dominated race tracks around the world. It achieved the ultimate success in 1955, 1956 and 1957 winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The design concept for the E-Type was based on the D-Type and not surprisingly Jaguar wanted to go racing again. In 1963 the Jaguar E-Type Lightweight was introduced. The car featured all aluminium body panels, an aluminium engine block as well as other aluminium components. The E-Type Lightweight never achieved the success of its older sibling, but they were very competitive race cars nevertheless. Only 12 factory E-Type Lightweights were built (of the 18 planned) in 1963 and 1964.

On the 3^rd March 1963 Jaguar Cars registered Lightweight E-Type chassis number S850662 as 4868 WK and it was delivered to Peter Lindner, the Jaguar importer in Germany. This was the fifth of the twelve Lightweight E-Types produced and was delivered as a roadster with a hardtop. Linder then signed Peter Nöcker to drive the car with him.

Malcom Sayer was a designer working for Jaguar with a back ground in aircraft engineering. He was one of the first engineers who applied the principle of aircraft streamline aero function to cars and he’d been working on a Low Drag Coupe version of the E-Type. The modified rear and the two-inch lower roof line made it cut through the air with greater ease. In fact, testing in the wind tunnel showed the shape was 10% more aerodynamically efficient than a Ferrari 250 GTO and 20% more efficient than a standard E-Type.

Lindner and Nöcker had some success with the car in 1963, however, in preparation for the 1964 season the car was sent back to Jaguar to be converted into a Low Drag Coupe. 1964 season was a tough season for them. The car was entered at the 1,000 km race at the Nürburgring, but they had to retire after 17 laps. Next race was at Le Mans. The early stages of the race were promising. The car proved to be as fast, if not faster than the Ferrari 250 GTO’s, achieving over 270 km/h on the main straight. Unfortunately, cooling problems forced them to retire the car after 149 laps. On 11^th October 1964 the car was entered into the 1,000 km race on the Montlhéry circuit near Paris. Tragedy struck and Lindner lost his life in a terrible accident at the wheel of his beloved E-type. The Jaguar was impounded by the French authorities and was locked away in a shed at Montlhéry for the next 17 years. In 2006 the car was purchased by Peter Neumark in the UK who went on the journey to restore the car to its original glory. It took over 7,000 skilled man hours and a lot of money, but finally, in 2010, the restored car was presented to the public.