When the Jaguar E-Type debuted 60 years ago it did so to the fanfare of a 150mph top speed. As history tells us, production models could never quite reach that figure, but as long as people have the desire to go fast, manufacturer specified top speeds will always remain academic.
This particular E-Type for instance, being sold through private treaty sale with Hampson Auctions, is said to be capable of more than 180mph, earning it the title of “The World’s Fastest E-Type Jaguar”. An alternative nickname is “The Beast”, though whether that refers to the car’s performance or its rather dramatic aerodynamic additions is unclear.
Whichever you choose to call it, the car’s story began in 1971 as a V12 roadster, but it was Fred Cliffe who conceived its current form in 1977. Cliffe was a respected racer who also prepared Jaguar racing cars, and had ambitions to conquer the modsports category of motor racing. Over the next 13 years at the hands of Bob Beere Racing and Malcolm Hamilton it morphed into its current form. The car was subsequently driven to 52 victories and 87 podiums during the 1990s.
Its builders eventually settled on a 7.3-litre monster making around 750bhp and 680lb ft of torque, through a sextet of twin-choke Webers, a Hewland dog ‘box and a sturdy triple-plate clutch. The drivetrain is effectively to TWR Group C spec, a detail topped off by wheels from the Jaguar XJ220 Le Mans racers, Dunlop slicks, and a carbonfibre rear wing from an old Silk Cut XJR-9.
Other unique details include bespoke suspension wishbones and anti-roll bars developed by Rob Beere Racing, Penske springs and dampers, and AP Racing brakes. The bodywork itself is an amalgam of aluminium, fibreglass and carbonfibre, and at 1275kg it’s a good quarter-ton lighter than a road-going E-Type V12.
The big numbers are a top speed in excess of 180mph, and the ability to sprint from a standstill to 150mph in around eight seconds. The biggest number of all though isn’t disclosed – that one is for negotiation with Hampson Auctions themselves.
With a Jaguar E-Type Phil Shephard set a time of 170.068mph (273.697kmh) on Tuesday 24/3/2015 which was a new DLRA Class Land Speed Record (E/GT Class) at Lake Gairdner in South Australia. It did not have the modifications like this car. It was a fixed head coupe with a production body. I think they have a legitimate claim to have the World’s Fastest E-Type.
0 to 150mph in 8s? That doesn’t sound right
Is it malcome hamlelton who raced the car did he have a repair/garage in Stockport my father used to work with him in the 80s and we used to go racing at Oulton Park and Donnington