Magazine: Celebrating 60 years of the Jaguar E-Type

The famous sportscar is 60 years old in 2021 and we decided to mark the occasion with a track test and a look back at the highs and lows of the E-type in motorsport.

Thanks to historic ace and Jaguar expert Gary Pearson, Autosport’s resident racer Ben Anderson got to try two special E-types at Brands Hatch, one with period racing history and another, faster Semi-Lightweight version with 380bhp that kept him on his toes.

We also look at the E-type’s competition history, from a victorious debut to being overwhelmed by the fierce Ferrari-Cobra GT battle of the mid-1960s. Pearson explains how the E-type has been improved in historic racing and is now capable of taking on machines that left it behind in period.

There have been some remarkable one-off racing E-types too, particularly in the UK, and Paul Lawrence recalls the stories and recent restorations of two of the best-known projects.

Pearson and many other Jaguar aces will be at Silverstone this weekend for the 60th anniversary race at the Classic. Marcus Pye’s selection of the other likely event highlights is part of the 19-page National section, which also includes reports from another dramatic British GT encounter at Spa, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Kirkistown and Prescott.

The big UK event last weekend was Formula E’s London return. Brits Jake Dennis and Alex Lynn took the victories, but the key talking point was the tactic used by Audi that almost brought Lucas di Grassi an unlikely success on Sunday. Matt Kew was there and reports on why the bold strategy failed – and why the idea was legal.

Johnathan Hoggard has had a challenging time since winning the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award in 2019, but he tells us why things are looking up in his guest column, as he gears up for the next FIA Formula 3 round in Hungary.

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