When I was growing up, there were several sports cars that were considered to be very cool. Among them was the Jaguar XK-E (as it was called in the US). This was a car whose prececessors had a long, successful history in winning races. It simply looked fast just sitting there with its long hood containing a very smooth six cylinder double overhead cam engine.

These cars not only looked fast, but they were with production cars being able to top 140mph and even a bit more if the engine was properly tuned. Like the later Corvette, they were considered to be upper end sports cars. They were the type of car that one owned if they couldn't afford a Ferrari or Maserati.

Born from the original Jaguar SS-100 which led to the XK-120/140/160 series of roadsters, the E-type also incorporated advances born of racing the C-type and D-type, both of which were winners and capable of being driven on the street (though barely). The E-type was more refined having roll up windows instead of side curtains and fairly nicely appointed interior of the time.

Eventually the type grew and later in life a smooth 12-cylinder engine was offered. The car was also available as the 2+2 hardtop; the +2 usually meaning fit for children in the back as the seats were quite small back there. Sales of the E-type totaled over 72,000 cars during its production run with the majority sold in the US. Production ran from 1961 to 1975, being finally killed off by bean counters who felt that Jaguar should put its efforts into sedans.

This book follows in much of the same format as the Tank Craft books. There is a history of the type, which in this case not only takes care of production cars, but also special racing versions. The differences in models is provided for you. Thanks to these being fairly recent cars, there are not as many color profiles needed as there are lots of color photos of extant machines available. This edition also covers models, but not the plastic ones of the tank series, but the diecast versions. In fact, the main cover image is a diecast model.

In all, it makes for a wonderful read of this iconic upper level sports car and one I know that you will like.

December 2020

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