• A stylish example of the “most beautiful car in the world”
• Clad in the period-style livery of Cardinal Red over black upholstery
• One of 5,871 left-hand drive examples reportedly produced between 1961 and 1964
• Powered by its numbers-matching 3.8-liter straight-six engine paired with a four-speed manual transmission
• Benefits from much mechanical sorting completed within the past year

Taking what they had learned on the track with the D-type and applying it to a new road model, Jaguar’s new E-Type featured a monocoque passenger compartment and tail section, a tube-framed engine bay, and a tilting bonnet. With its well-appointed interior, civilized 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine, and a compliant suspension, the E-Type was an ideal two-seater sports car. Sweeping lines and an aggressive yet undeniably sensual stance gave the new Jaguar looks previously seen only on Italian cars. Even better, it was faster than the average Ferrari and Maserati, and was even cheaper to buy than other rival European sports cars available at the time. The motoring press ate it up, and sales of the E-Type went through the roof.

The JDHT Trace Certificate on file notes that the handsome 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe offered here was delivered new to the United States via Max Hoffman’s distributorship and dispatched to its first owner on 25 February 1963. Though originally clad in an Opalescent Golden Sand over Tan upholstery, today the car has been refinished in an alluring period-style Cardinal Red exterior over black livery. The car’s present 3.8-liter straight-six engine is numbers-matching to that listed on JDHT documentation, and it is paired with a four-speed manual transmission.

A fresh set of factory-correct wide whitewall tires add to the near-perfect E-Type aesthetic, which is rounded out here by a pair of 15-inch factory chrome wire wheels. As is appropriate for such a neatly presented Series 1 E-type, the cabin is replete with all the proper airplane-style toggle switchgear and chrome trim, which undoubtedly remain a core component of the model’s enduring, stylish appeal. A rarely-seen Continental Custom push-button radio is fitted in the center console, thereby continuing the uniformity of the car’s interior styling.

Nearly $6,500 of notable servicing furnished to this Series 1 Fixed Head Coupe within the past year includes a new clutch slave cylinder, oil feed pipe, oil pressure gauge, and sending unit, as well as a new brake master cylinder. The chassis underpinnings were further improved with fresh bushings for the rear swing arms, as well as new boots for the steering rack and tie rods. Additionally, the trio of SU carburetors have been rebuilt and each fitted with new bowls, jets, and floats.

Enzo Ferrari was not lying when he called the E-Type the most beautiful car in the world, and this Series 1 proves itself worthy of that title.To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf21.