Two models of the very first E-Type Jaguar go under the hammer

Two models of the very first E-Type Jaguar go under the hammer and could fetch more than £1 million each

Auction includes first production model ever made, a 1961 Series 3.8l Roadster
It was owned by Jaguar’s racing team manager Frank Raymond Wilton England

Two E-Type Jaguars known as the ‘Crown Jewels’ of UK motoring are set to go under the hammer for more than £1million each.

The auction includes the first production model ever manufactured, a 1961 Series 3.8l Roadster, which could fetch up to £1.2million.

The indigo blue motor was owned by Jaguar’s racing team manager Frank Raymond Wilton ‘Lofty’ England, who oversaw five victories for the team at Le Mans.

A spokesman for automotive auction specialists Gooding & Company said the significance of the car was ‘beyond measure’.

The same collector is also set to part with a unique right-hand-drive 1961 Coupe E-Type, one of the only four of its type ever built.

The auction includes the first production model ever manufactured, a 1961 Series 3.8l Roadster, which could fetch up to £1.2million

The same collector is also set to part with a unique right-hand-drive 1961 Coupe E-Type (pictured), one of the only four of its type ever built

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe (left) and 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster (right)

Featuring an opalescent dark blue body and a red leather interior, it was lovingly restored by the unnamed owner after he purchased it for just £1 in 2000.

It is estimated to sell for as much as £1.4million when it goes under the hammer in London on September 1.

The owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘Driving an E-Type is always good fun but to be able to own two incredibly important cars just amplifies that pleasure.

‘It has been a privilege to own them and I hope they continue to give as much pleasure to the new owners as they have to me and my family over the last 20 years.’

Gooding & Company auctioneer Charlie Ross, who will lead the September sale, said: ‘Enzo Ferrari has been quoted as saying the Jaguar E-type is the most beautiful car in the world. This pair started the obsession and the auction really does afford an opportunity for someone to purchase two of the UK’s automotive Crown Jewels.’

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. Featuring an opalescent dark blue body and a red leather interior, it was lovingly restored by the unnamed owner after he purchased it for just £1 in 2000

E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. It is estimated to sell for as much as £1.4million when it goes under the hammer in London on September 1

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. The owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘Driving an E-Type is always good fun but to be able to own two incredibly important cars just amplifies that pleasure’

E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. The owner said: ‘It has been a privilege to own them and I hope they continue to give as much pleasure to the new owners as they have to me and my family over the last 20 years’

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. Gooding & Company auctioneer Charlie Ross, who will lead the September sale, said: ‘Enzo Ferrari has been quoted as saying the Jaguar E-type is the most beautiful car in the world’

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. Mr Ross said of the two cars: This pair started the obsession and the auction really does afford an opportunity for someone to purchase two of the UK’s automotive Crown Jewels’

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. Regarded as a motoring masterpiece, the ground-breaking E-Type was conceived by co-founder of Jaguar Cars Sir William Lyons, known as Mr Jaguar

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. Essentially a road-going version of Jaguar’s Le Mans-dominating D-Type, the E-Type was accessible to just about any level of driver

1961 E-Type Series I 3.8-Litre Fixed Head Coupe. The E-Type boasted great performance capability with a top speed of 150 mph

Regarded as a motoring masterpiece, the ground-breaking E-Type was conceived by co-founder of Jaguar Cars Sir William Lyons, known as Mr Jaguar.

Essentially a road-going version of Jaguar’s Le Mans-dominating D-Type, the E-Type was accessible to just about any level of driver.

It boasted great performance capability with a top speed of 150 mph.

Lyons approved the addition of a coupe body for the E-Type, and this was chosen as the debut car for the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1961. The E-Type won immediate recognition as star of the show.

Though Lyons led Jaguar’s success, Middlesex-born Lofty England, who died in 1995, played a hugely important role. He was probably second only to Lyons in determining the corporate direction and public image of Jaguar Cars.

The Jaguars are among a selection of the world’s rarest and most historically important British classic cars – worth more than £5 million – in the Gooding & Company auction.

Other offerings include a one-of-a-kind 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 ‘Indiana’ Spider, with an estimate of £1.2m to £1.8m. It was produced thanks to the motoring passions of US millionaire industrialist and foreign car distributor Stanley ‘Wacky’ Arnolt of Chicago, Illinois.

In 1951, at Italy’s Torino Auto Show, he struck a deal with design house Bertone to build a handful of custom-bodied MG TDs and Aston Martin DB2/4s.

They included the one-off ‘Indiana’ Spider, chassis LML/762. It was custom built for Mr Arnolt and designed by Bertone’s lead stylist Franco Scaglione – the brains behind many of the most famous Italian automotive designs.

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster. The Jaguars are among a selection of the world’s rarest and most historically important British classic cars – worth more than £5 million – in the Gooding & Company auction

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster being driven on a country road

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster. Jaguar’s legendary racing team manager, Lofty, a man who oversaw five Le Mans victories, allocated the earliest E-Types to their first owners and chose one for himself

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster. The auction also includes a one-of-a-kind 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 ‘Indiana’ Spider, with an estimate of £1.2m to £1.8m

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster. Though co-founder of Jaguar Cars Sir William Lyons led the carmaker’s success, Middlesex-born Lofty England, who died in 1995, played a hugely important role. He was probably second only to Lyons in determining the corporate direction and public image of Jaguar Cars

1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 3.8-litre Roadster. The two E-Type Jaguars are known as the ‘Crown Jewels’ of UK motoring

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