Car of the Week
1969 SERIES 2 JAGUAR E-TYPE
Owner: John O’Rafferty Blairgowrie
This splendid example was bought in 1990 from a dealer in London.
John accompanied by Bob Kerr President of Scottish Drivers Club travelled there to view it and close the deal. With only 56000 miles on the clock it was too good to pass up!
John paid £16000 for the car and they drove it home to Luss then on to Blairgowrie.
John drove the car for 3 years it was garaged when a major storm hit. John did not look at the car for 6 months and then he found the roof of the garage had collapsed and all the rain had gone into the car as the roof was down.
John moved car to dry storage where it remained until 2018. His friend Roddy Ritchie and a small garage in Almondbank led the restoration. Colin Stewart Chairman of Blairgowrie Rotary Drive it Day went to see John and heard his dream was to drive the E-Type on the 2021 Drive it Day however after inspection it was concluded that after three years work the car was only 50% restored but a plan was put in place to ensure the car was ready for Drive it Day .After a tremendous effort by all concerned 7 days a week and night work the car was ready on Saturday the day before Drive it Day. Colin now rates the car as one of the best restorations of a E type he has ever seen, and it is Concours condition.
John drove the car for the first time since 1993 on Drive It Day on 22nd August 2021. The car ran like a dream with no problems, which is unheard off after a full restoration!
This helped John raise the most money for charity that year and helped boost the total to £30000 on Drive it Day, for Bowel Cancer and Alzheimer’s.
The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the model as an icon of the motoring world.
The E-Type's claimed 150 mph (241 km/h) top speed, sub-7-second 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration, unitary construction, disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and independent front and rear suspension distinguished the car and spurred industry-wide changes. The E-Type was based on Jaguar's D-Type racing car, which had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for three consecutive years beginning in 1955, and employed what was, for the early 1960s, a novel racing design principle, with a front subframe carrying the engine, front suspension and front bodywork bolted directly to the body tub. No ladder frame chassis, as was common at the time, was needed and as such the first cars weighed only 1315 kg (2900 lb).
It is rumored that, on its release on 15 March 1961 Enzo Ferrari called it "the most beautiful car ever made", but this statement is not fully confirmed. In 2004, Sports Car International magazine placed the E-Type at number one on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. In March 2008, the Jaguar E-Type ranked first in The Daily Telegraph online list of the world's "100 most beautiful cars" of all time.
Submit your entry for Car of the Week - share your restoration story and the back history of your special vehicle.
Email: pcct@perthrotary.co.uk
Our charities for 2022
My Name’5 Doddie Foundation
- Absolutely committed to our vision of a world free of MND, leaving no stone unturned in our relentless pursuit of this goal.
Prostate Scotland
- A Scottish charity set up to provide information, advice and help on prostate health and diseases test and treatments
Rotary International
- Rotary has 100 years experience of supporting essential causes locally, in Scotland and worldwide.