One of only 385 desirable 'Outside bonnet lock' examples built
1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-litre 'Flat Floor' Roadster

• The 247th of just 385 left-hand drive 'outside bonnet lock' Roadsters built
• Matching numbers chassis & engine
• Originally ordered in 'Cream' with red interior
• Professionally restored in the late 2000s
• Beautifully presented
• Danish registration document

"Here we have one of the quietest and most flexible cars on the market, capable of whispering along in top gear at 10mph or leaping into its 150mph stride on the brief depression of a pedal. A practical touring car, this, with its wide doors and capacious luggage space, yet it has a sheer beauty of line which easily beats the Italians at their own particular game." - John Bolster, Autosport.

There have been few better summaries of the Jaguar E-Type's manifest virtues than John Bolster's, penned for Autosport shortly after the car's debut in 1961. Introduced in 3.8-litre form, the E-Type caused a sensation when it appeared, with instantly classic lines and a 241km/h top speed. The newcomer's design owed much to that of the racing D-Type: a monocoque tub forming the main structure, while a tubular spaceframe extended forwards to support the engine. The latter was the same 3.8-litre, triple-carburettor 'S' unit first offered as an option on the preceding XK150. An optimistic 265bhp was claimed, but whatever the installed horsepower, the E-Type's performance did not disappoint; firstly, because it weighed around 227kg less than the XK150 and secondly because aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer used experience gained with the D-Type to create one of the most elegant and efficient shapes ever to grace a motor car. Taller drivers, though, could find the interior somewhat lacking in space, a criticism addressed by the introduction early in 1962 of foot wells, alongside more minor modifications such as inside bonnet locks.

Today, the E-Type's graceful lines live on in modern Jaguar sports cars, and there can be little doubt that William Lyons' sublime creation would feature in any knowledgeable enthusiast's 'Top Ten' of the world's most beautiful cars. Indeed, even Enzo Ferrari felt obliged to concede that the E-type was 'the most beautiful car ever made'. But of all the versions of Jaguar's long-lived and much-loved sports car, it is the very early 'flat floor' 3.8-litre cars built prior to February 1962, which, for many enthusiasts, remain the most desirable and definitely the ones to have.

An early 'flat floor' car with the outside bonnet locks and welded-in bonnet louvres, left-hand drive chassis number '875247' was built on 18th July 1961 and delivered to Jaguar Cars, New York, USA. It is estimated only 385 early 'outside bonnet lock' Roadsters were built in left-hand drive. The E-Type was originally finished in Cream with red interior and black soft-top, as it is today. The car remained in the USA until 2008 when it was sold to a Mr Andersen in Denmark. Mr Andersen had the E-Type professionally restored, and kept the car until recently when it was passed on to the next Danish collector. The car is beautifully presented, with very good lines and shut gaps (always difficult on an E-Type). The accompanying Jaguar Heritage Certificate confirms the chassis and matching engine number which can be found on both the engine block as the cylinder head. The Jaguar E-type is one of the few stylistically perfect designs in automotive history, and these rare 'flat floor' examples represent the marque in its earliest and purest form. An opportunity not to be missed.