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UK V5
See UK Registration/Import Status Guide in catalogue.

“If you want a car to retain its individuality, then it has to be something produced by individuals whose job is that and that alone, and you have got to have people whose life has been steeped in the Jaguar image. Otherwise, if you bring in someone from the outside you start to produce something entirely different, and in a very short period of time you lose that image.”
Frank “Lofty” England

The story of Jaguar’s meteoric rise to racing fame and success in the 1950s is well known, posting an incredible five overall wins at Le Mans with the immortal C- and D-Type race cars. The invaluable experience gleaned from such success on the track, under dedicated guidance and management, can create an opportunity to build truly groundbreaking road cars. Such is the case with Jaguar’s E-Type, introduced in early 1961. The effect that the E-Type had on the motoring public around the world is difficult to overstate. It truly was a civilized, road-going version of Jaguar’s Le Mans-dominating D-Type that had been made approachable enough for most any driver, capable of 150 mph straight out of the showroom; and it was, for many, one of the most beautiful automobiles ever put into production.

Sir William Lyons’ leadership allowed Jaguar to flourish. He had appointed gifted engineer, pilot, and racing technical wizard Frank R.W. “Lofty” England to head the company’s racing department. Applying his experience working with Tim Birkin’s team and the Blower Bentley cars, as well as Prince Bira’s White Mouse Stable, in preparing his ERA race cars, Lofty’s management of the Jaguar Works team is worthy of careful study to this day. He ran the team with hard-nosed authority and discipline, and demanded strict adherence to his orders from his staff and drivers.

Upon the release of the E-Type in 1961, which was the runaway hit of the Geneva Motor Show that year, Jaguar found itself in the spotlight of the world’s automotive stage. By this time, with his racing days behind him, Lofty was Jaguar’s assistant managing director under Sir Lyons. Seizing the importance of the model’s launch, Lofty handpicked the first fortunate owners of the E-Type, including high-profile race drivers and well-known celebrities.

The first two numbered cars were prototypes, solely used for internal testing; chassis 850003, registered 77 RW, was famously dispatched to the Geneva Motor Show and, following an all-night drive, provided rides to reporters who were beguiled by the E-Type. Lofty allocated himself the next right-hand-drive Roadster, chassis 850004, the car offered here. Famously registered as 1600 RW, it was the very first production E-Type to be sold.

Lofty drove 850004 as his personal car and loaned it on several occasions for press coverage and publicity events, and it appeared in numerous print articles in 1961. It became a familiar sight in various racing paddocks, and racer Graham Hill was photographed with it, wearing the day’s laurels of a 1st Place victory in another E-Type. Lofty later sold the Roadster to his friend Thomas E.B. “Tommy” Sopwith, founder of Equipe Endeavour, the British Saloon Car Championship team. Sopwith drove the Jaguar for several years before selling it to noted race driver Michael Parkes. By 1971, 1600 RW was in need of reconditioning, and was taken to K.S. Mather Engineering in St. Helens, UK, for extensive work. Mr. Mather later assumed ownership in 1975, and it was to remain in his shop in a disassembled and deteriorated state until it was sold to the current owner in 2002. Soon thereafter, 1600 RW was entrusted to the renowned Classic Motor Cars Ltd. in Shropshire, UK, for a painstaking multiyear, concours-level restoration in its as-delivered colors. Lost parts were sourced and the bonnet was remade to the original specification; no area of the car was overlooked.

In March 2021, Lofty’s shining, Indigo Blue Roadster took part in a ceremonial drive to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, and the famed unveiling of the E-Type. Today, this immensely important Jaguar appears as it did when the public first laid eyes on it. As the first E-Type ever sold, the significance of 1600 RW to collectors and enthusiasts of the Jaguar marque is beyond measure.