Jaguar in the 1950s was a pool of extraordinary talent. William Lyons (1901–85), at the helm, had taken the company from building motorcycle sidecars to becoming a fully fledged high-performance marque. World War II contracts for aircraft spars certainly helped improve the technical skills of the workforce, so Jaguar used argon-arc aluminium welding on its postwar light-alloy structures. During the war, too, the basic design for the magnificent six-cylinder 3.4-litre XK engine was established by principal engineer William Heynes (1904–89), supposedly while on fire-watching duty during air raids. This robust, beautiful and powerful unit was developed after the war by ex-Bentley engine maestro Walter Hassan with tuning wizard Harry Weslake and was to underpin Jaguar’s racing and road car programmes for decades.
In 1948 the new Jaguar XK120 was the star of the London Motor Show, beginning a serious commitment to sports car racing that culminated in the sensuous D-Type and its numerous Le Mans victories. The D-Type body was developed by Loughborough-trained aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer (1916–70), who brought his wartime design experience with the Bristol Aeroplane Company to bear, using closely guarded mathematical techniques. There may have been an element of ‘snake oil’ in his secret tables but, though rival cars were often more powerful, the Jaguars usually had the highest top speed. Sayer was also far ahead of his contemporaries in realizing that aerodynamic goals included defeating lift at high speed, and in giving his cars good stability from side wind gusts.
The E-Type is, in a sense, the road-going heir to the D-Type – a road car that looks like a racer. Although unkindly called a ‘tart trap’ by some at the time, it inherited the excellent aerodynamic performance of the D-Type and offered 150mph performance for half the price of a Ferrari or an Aston Martin. The E-Type was a true cut-price supercar – a 1960s British icon offering great looks and authentic engineering.
A true cut-price supercar? The E-Type has sensuous bodywork and bulletproof engines. It made Jaguar a special brand. However did such a terrific advantage slip away?