1962 Jaguar E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Roadster

In 1962, this Jaguar E-Type exited the Browns Lane factory in Coventry, England, sporting two of the most sought-after features of the E-Type family: flat floors and welded-bonnet louvres. The Series I 3.8 Litre E-Type is considered by collectors to be one of the purest of the blood line, before footwells were added and the bonnet louvres were modified.

When the current owner, a respected E-Type restoration specialist, acquired the car three years ago, he embarked on a comprehensive and high-quality restoration. The body was stripped to bare metal and refinished. The engine and differential have been rebuilt and the wiring harness, wheels, tires, braking system, clutch, and hydraulics are all new. The correct Connolly hide interior was imported from England, and the stainless steel exhaust has been polished to a chrome-like finish. The restorer-owner went to extreme lengths to ensure a proper panel fit of the doors, which appear to align with the body of the car without fracture – paying homage to the profile lines that William Lyons so revered.

Accompanying the sale are a tool kit, jack, original books, the JDHT certificate, and a rare factory hard top. Burnished by a concours-standard restoration, displaying an attractive black and red livery – its original colors – and notable as one of the last of the early flat-floor E-Types, this Jaguar is an extremely collectible, ultimately driveable piece of rolling art.