Autoworld threw a birthday party for the 60 years old E-Type

Autoworld conjured two dozen high-end classic Jaguars to commemorate one of the most celebrated automotive anniversaries of 2021. When we have taken stock of automotive anniversaries this year, we already knew that this year was not going to be great.

One of the anniversary highlights of 2021 includes the 60^th anniversary of the E-Type  that became a featured topic of several museums and events including this exhibition.

Throughout the summer, Belgian national museum Autoworld joined the celebrations with its own exhibition. For this party, the Belgian curators conjured two dozen unique, rare, often historical and outright jaw-dropping exhibits to illustrate the history and future of the E-Type.

The showcased cars include historical Series 1 and Series 2 models, unique race cars, and the spiritual successor XJ220 down to the 2021 Jaguar F-TYPE Heritage 60 Edition.

As usual, Autoworld rounds these exhibitions up into a complete package, with posters about the brand’s history, detailed datasheets for each car, and die-cast models showcasing the birthday boy.

One particular detail is the life-size Bburago box, keeping a real-life Jaguar E-type, surrounded by die-cast models, memorabilia and numerous books on Jaguar.

And there is quite a lot to document. The E-Type  is one of the most iconic sports cars of the post-war era. Enzo Ferrari is often quoted saying that the E-Type is the most beautiful car ever designed (the credit goes to Malcolm Sayer).

The E-type’s look was sensational back then and swiftly grew into a symbol of the ’60s. With its highly favourable price/performance ratio and over the top specs, the car became an instant success, especially on the American market. The racing success of the legendary C and D-Types preceded the E-Type , but Jaguar did not stop there. The E-Type was improved constantly, receiving a whopping V12 and several experimental versions. These unique cars are all very well documented and illustrated in this exhibition.

The first podium is dedicated to the initial Series 1, with the first one being the earliest of the exhibition, a 1961 E-Type Series I with outside bonnet locks.

This car was the 209th E-type roadster and only one of the first 385 LHD open two-seater models that had these original outside bonnet locks.

Next up is a red Series I from 1962 with the 3.8 inline six-cylinder of the XK150 delivering an impressive 265 hp.

The third E-Type on the podium is 1963 Series I open two-seater (also known as OTS), still relying on the 3.8-litre engine.

The next podium illustrates the evolution of the E-Type model series.

The lineup starts with the green 1968 intermediate model (sometimes called Series 1.5, but officially, the factory did not differentiate back then).

This is a rare 2+2 body style that was introduced in 1966 alongside the regular coupé.

The white 1970 illustrates the evolution of the second Series. The Series 2 was in production from 1969 to 1971 and was available with a 4.2 L six-cylinder engine, and the distinctive stylistic changes included the headlights without a glass cover.

This car won the Mille Miglia in 1955 with Stirling Moss. The picture next to the car shows the owner Denis Jenkinson (the navigator of Moss) at the Jaguar headquarters in Coventry.

The next 1972 Roadster is a specimen from the last Series. The Series 3 was built from 1971 to 1974 and can easily be recognised from its longer bonnet and a large cooler grille. Jaguar had its reasons for this feature. The guys in Coventry stuffed a massive 5.3-litre V12 engine producing a whopping 272 hp.

The podium concludes with a red Series 3 also from 1972.

The third podium showcases a wider selection of rare classics, predating or taking inspiration from the E-Type.

The timeline opens with the grandfather of the E-Type , a Jaguar C-Type (albeit a replica). This race car was officially designated as Jaguar XK120-C, whereby the letter C stood for competition.

This model was feared and respected on track, as it won at Le Mans in 1952 and 1953. The C-Type was based on the road version XK120 enhanced with a lightweight tubular frame chassis. A total of 53 C-types built, 43 of which were sold to private owners, mainly in the US.

Going up the Alphabet, the next blue D-Type  brought further racing success, well beyond its predecessor.  This car was developed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The D-type still relied on the inline six-cylinder engine and many other components of its predecessor. At the same time, its structure was groundbreaking, with monocoque construction from aeroplane design and revolutionary aerodynamics, on some models with an iconic fin behind the cockpit.

The D-Type won at Le Mans three times, in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Some 71 cars were built, with some confusion due to a fire at the factory that destroyed a few cars. Recently, there was a JLR heritage repro series based on the wreckages saved from the fire, with original VIN numbers.

The showcased D-Type is a Lynx replica of the Ecurie Ecosse car that won Le Mans in 1957 with Ivor Bueb and Ron Flockhart.

The next car is another replica, which can be forgiven, as only some 12 Lightweight E-Types were built (plus some change). The Lightweight versions were built in 1963 and 1964, with a factory repro series in 2014 (somehow, the folks at Jaguar always find unfinished chassis of cars handled at astronomic prices at auctions : ) ).

This model is considered as an evolution of the low drag coupé, with an even cooler look. This particular replica is based on a Series 2 chassis and rebodied to correct specification.

The next car is a special version of the 1962 E-Type, the so-called Low Drag Coupé, a racing project developed shortly after the unveiling of the series production car. These race cars also used the 3.8-litre inline-six, but with an experimental cylinder head peaking at 300 HP, reaching a top speed of 250 km/h.

The factory completed only a single car, so it is understandable if the showcased car is not the original, but a faithful replica built at Lynx.

The last car in the row is among my personal favourite Jags of all time. The XJ 220 was a real poster car of the 90s, and its top speed of 341.7 km/h (212.3 mph in British English : ) ) made it the fastest production car from 1992 to 1993.

The original concept promised a throaty all-wheel-drive V12 that made the rich and famous crowding around Jaguar in the “shut up and take my money” pose. Given the predecessor JRX 15 (the Pagani Zonda of the ‘90s, a blue one is a frequent guest at Autoworld), the high expectations were legitimate.

In the end, the final road-legal XJ220 had to settle with a 3.5 litre twin-turbo V6 using an RWD layout. I am not sure how many interested customers asked for their £50,000 (exclusive of taxes!) deposit back out of the 1,400 future customers. Still, ultimately 281 cars were produced, and not all had been sold.

The E-Type  exhibition is open until the end of August, but I recommend paying a visit before the Vespa exhibition is wound up (mid-August). The next show, honouring the Spa race track, will open on 3 September.

For an overview of the museums we visited, check out the interactive map: