The car of my dreams

I came across an article the other day that said that Jaguar Cars Ltd. is going to make 6 more E-Type Jaguars - the venerable XKE.

When I was a young man I lusted after this automobile. Sleek and powerful, with a sensuous hood that stretched out forever, the E-Type was labeled "the most beautiful car ever made" by Enzo Ferrari. The NYC Museum of Modern Art added a blue roadster to its permanent design collection in 1996, one of only six automobiles to receive the distinction. In 2008, it was listed 1st in a tally of the 100 most beautiful cars in the world. In production from 1961 to 1967, more than 70,000 cars were sold. Some 50 years later, it is still highly sought after by collectors.

It is common for young (and old) men to yearn for fancy automobiles. I craved the E-Type Jag; my roommate and later brother-in-law was keen on the Mercedes Super Light. He made good by later owning a couple of Mercedes autos, though not a Super Light. I never got a Jag of any kind, apart from the toy model Barb gave me one Christmas.

I have been near some of these magnificent vehicles from time-to-time. While filming "State Fair" in Dallas in 1962, Pat Boone drove his E-Type to the ACU campus to visit his sister, Judy. Too bad we were no longer an item; I might have lucked into a ride. And while Barb and I were in Carmel last year several E-Types were on display at the Concours on the Avenue.

 So what's the story about making 6 more? Well, in 1963 the company committed to making 18 special  lightweight, race-ready versions of the car. They built 12, but their success on the race track was spotty, at best. Transmission problems plagued the competition models (and the street machines, as well) and the aerodynamics of the vehicle tended to suck the drivers right out of the open roadsters. The project was scrubbed with 6 machines not built.

Fifty years later, over drinks, an engineering team at Jaguar Land Rover decided to complete the task. They are determined to build the cars—with chassis numbers set aside in 1963—exactly as the first dozen were made five decades ago. That means keeping everything strictly original, right down to the construction methods and the countless parts no one but a mechanic will ever see. Money is no object. All 6 have already been sold at an average price of around $1.5 million dollars!

Which brings me to the reason why I never owned an E-Type. I simply could not justify spending the amount of money needed to own one of those luscious autos. When you could buy a brand new VW Beetle for $1,200, who could conscientiously spend - wait for it - $5,000 on an automobile?