Jaguars E-Type earned its reputation on a racetrack before it ever reached a showroom, tracing its lineage to a D-Type that won Le Mans three years straight. By 1966 the car had grown into its most well-rounded form, pairing a 4.2-litre, 265-horsepower six with mechanical upgrades that fixed the earlier cars biggest complaints. It is a combination collectors still chase today.
The E-Type or Jaguar  XK-E was manufactured in the U.K. from 1961 though 1975. This is not only one of the most attractively designed sports cars ever built and it is also very agile. The majority of vehicles until the mid-60’s have drum brakes, , live axles both front and rear coupled with unexceptional performance. The compelling E-Type is available in ’61, with disc brakes, rack and pinion steering plus independent front and rear suspension. This car will also turn in under 7 second times from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) and can achieve a top speed in excess of 150 mph (241.4 km/h). The E-Type shown below is a Series I and powered by a 42 liter Inline six cylinder engine that produces 265 HP (197.6 kW) delivering up to 283 ft-lb of torque to the wheels.
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When Enzo Ferrari reportedly called it the most beautiful car ever made, he was not talking about one of his own machines, he was talking about a road-going sports car that shared its bloodline with a racer that had already won Le Mans three years running. By 1966, that lineage had matured into arguably the sweet spot of the entire models fifteen-year production run, blending early styling cues with meaningfully upgraded mechanicals. Only a handful of years separate this car from its racing ancestors, and the difference shows in ways that are not obvious from a photograph alone. What exactly changed under the skin to make this particular year so sought after?
Born From a Le Mans Winner
The E-Type debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, but its roots trace back to Jaguars D-Type, a race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three consecutive years starting in 1955. That racing pedigree shaped the E-Types low-slung monocoque construction and aerodynamic shape, and it is a big part of why the car became an instant sensation on the show stand.
The 4.2-Litre Sweet Spot
Jaguar introduced the larger 4.2-litre engine in October 1964, and by 1966 it was paired with an all-synchromesh gearbox and an improved Lockheed brake servo, fixes for two of the earlier 3.8-litre cars most common complaints. The inline-six, fed by three carburetors, produced 265 horsepower, enough to make the E-Type genuinely quick by mid-1960s standards while still delivering the comfort improvements buyers had been asking for.
Jaguar built more than 70,000 E-Types across the models 1961-to-1975 run, offered as a coupe, a 2+2 coupe, and a roadster, with the 1966 cars straddling two distinct eras of the design. Collectors today often single out this window specifically because it combines the earlier cars more delicate covered-headlight styling with the mechanical maturity that came later, a combination that did not last many model years before Jaguar moved on to the next major revision.
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