Jaguar XKE History

It's hard to imagine a car today having the kind of impact on modern culture that the XKE had in the early 1960s. It was a wild and free time—mini skirts, French bikinis, Andy Warhol and the Beatles were just some of the symbols of an era when creativity, not productivity, were in the forefront of the news. The automotive industry was lagging behind the times: the 1961 Corvette, the Porsche 356 and the various MGs and Triumphs were hold-overs from the 1950s. Then, suddenly, there was the XKE!

E-Ticket
Jaguar sprang this tour de force on the public at the 1961 Geneva Auto Show, where it absolutely stole the show. The XKE borrowed stylistically and mechanically from the famous Le Mans-winning D-Type Jaguars, but to keep costs down many of its components were pulled from the Jag production parts bin. The body, though, was like nothing anyone had ever seen. Smooth and balanced, the Jaguar E-Type (known in the U.S. as the XKE) swept back from covered headlights to a long hood, ending with a gently rounded tail. There were two models, a coupe that was perhaps more stylish and a sporty roadster.


The engine was a 3.8-liter twincam six inherited from the previous Jag sports car, the XK-150S. It used triple SU carburetors and produced 265 hp. The chassis was all new and based on race car practice, with a monocoque center section and a front subframe to mount the engine. Brakes were disc all around (mounted inboard at the rear) and wire wheels were retained by two-eared knock-offs. It made everything else available for the road (including the Ferrari 250 GT and the Maserati 3500GT) look positively ancient. Not only that, but with a top speed of 150 mph the 1961 XKE would outrun any production car in the world!


The biggest shock was the price: the XKE retailed for only $5,595, only slightly more than a Corvette and less than half the price of a street Ferrari. Imagine if the latest Lamborghini today was priced at $35,000—that's the reaction most people had when the XKE exploded on the scene. Every car magazine in the world showcased the new model on their covers and the writers ran out of superlatives to describe it.

Sales Success
And of course every celebrity had to get one. Jack Paar took delivery of his on the set of The Tonight Show. Rock stars and celebrities wheeled them around fashionable eateries and clubs, and they became a familiar prop in movies when a stunning entrance was required.