"Launched at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, the Jaguar E-Type was nothing short of a revelation. With its heady blend of supercar performance, breath taking styling and low price tag, the newcomer left rivals reeling and customers clamouring, whilst early sportscar racing success at the hands of Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori amongst others helped cement its reputation.
Manufactured on 15th January 1962, this barn find example was supplied new by Henlys of London and is number 162 of only 631 right hand drive Flat Floor E-Type coupés produced. Fitted with its original matching numbers engine this E-Type was originally presented in the very desirable colour combination of opalescent dark blue over a grey leather interior. Previously owned for five decades, it has been laid up for the past fifteen years and is now coming to the open market as a good base for restoration. The body and subframe are in good restorable condition although as expected the paintwork is blistering and peeling throughout. It is also fitted with non-standard steel flared wheel arches which we believe were added many years ago. The interior is also well and retains many original ‘Flat Floor’ features, the bulkhead behind the seats is the original flat, non-scalloped version and the dashboard is correctly finished in aluminium. It should be noted that at some stage the footwell floor pans have been replaced for the later dropped versions. The vendor reports that the engine has been running recently and that this E-Type is a good, solid base from which to begin the process of creating something very special indeed.
This very rare example comes complete with a sizeable history file including an old style buff logbook, Jaguar Heritage Trust Production Record Trace Certificate, many old MoT test certificates, a few letters, one of which establishes that the car was being used and driven in the mid 2000’s, various sundry invoices, original E-Type manuals, various photographs and the UK V5 registration document. We are sure this rare ‘Flat Floor’ example will be a very rewarding project for the new custodian. Arguably one of the most exciting restoration projects on the market today.
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