Jaguar E-type -- Favorite Feline Of The Sports-car World
By David Bellm, Tue Dec 6th

It was pure lust on wheels. Jaguar's voluptuous E-type had carenthusiasts' tongues hanging down to their knees when it wasintroduced. And to this day the car commands head-spinningattention whenever it makes the scene.

First conceived in 1956, the E-Type was originally intended as areplacement for the Coventry, England firm's mighty D-Typeendurance racers. Jaguar quit racing shortly after the E-Type'sdevelopment began, but work on the car continued nonetheless,culminating in a production roadgoing version introduced at theGeneva Motor Show in March, 1961. Offered as a two-seat coupe orconvertible, it was an immediate hit.

Among the car's revolutionary features was independent rearsuspension, a first for Jaguar, at a time when almost allstreetable still used a more primitive solid-axlesetup. But the E-Type's most compelling claim at the time wasits speed. The car's smooth aerodynamics and 265-hp 3.8-literinline six allowed it a top speed of 150 mph -- strictly thedomain of race cars and ultra-pricey exotics back then. Althoughnot cheap, the E-Type offered such thrills for far less moneythan

similar-performing machines.

To ensure the E-Type's continuing sales appeal, Jaguar gave thecar a succession of changes over the years. The 3.8-liter sixwas replaced for 1965 by a 4.2-liter version that had moretorque. The following year, a 2+2 bodystyle was introduced. In1971, Jaguar launched the final iteration of the E-Type, poweredby a 314-hp 5.3-liter V12. The last of the 72,507 E-Types leftthe plant in early 1975.

Today, experts invariably list the E-Type as one of the world'smost beautiful cars. Combine that appealing design with thecar's pleasing road manners and sporty smooth exhaust purr, andyou've got one of the finest sensory delights known to man.

For more articles on vintage sports cars, along with drive-testarticles on today's hottest performance cars, go tohttp://www.autiv.com/

About the author:David Bellm is a seasoned automotive writer and historian. Hiswork has been featured in a wide variety of online and printpublications.