From its sensational 1961 debut as a 150 MPH showstopper to the end of the line in 1974, the Jaguar E-Type had come a long way. This one, however, has barely begun its journey, for though it’s a final-year Series III V-12 roadster from 1974, it has been driven just 2,441 miles and remains in unrestored condition. The original 6-cylinder E-Type possessed a purity of form admired even by Enzo Ferrari, but as the 1960s wore on, U.S.- spec versions were somewhat hobbled by a raft of federal regulations that compromised performance. To rectify matters, Jaguar re-injected the pace in 1971 by fitting its awesome, race-bred, four-carburetor, all-aluminum 5.3L V-12 into the longer hull of the 2+2 coupe to create the Series III roadster and Americans once more got the full-house E-Type experience enjoyed by Europeans. Moreover, the Series III V-12 roadster bettered the acceleration of all preceding models and once more delivered 140 MPH-plus performance. The suspension had also been revised, the all-around disc brakes further improved, and the cabin was roomier and better equipped. Power steering, at first an option, later became standard. Another option was an automatic transmission, but in the case of this final-year roadster, the original buyer opted for the more favored and sporting 4-speed manual. As a 1974 example, this 5.3L V-12 roadster, liveried in the popular factory color scheme of Signal Red with a tan interior, represents the ultimate refinement and evolution of the E-Type theme and comes with the few available factory options including air conditioning at $521, chrome wire wheels ($275) and white-stripe tires ($45). That would have added up to an on-the-road price of around $10,200, which really was sensational value considering that anything else with V-12 power and in the same performance league, such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis for example, would have set one back close to three times the money. That price-performance equation was always a key part of the E-type’s selling proposition. Yet, with just 2,441 miles on the clock, this extraordinary and singular, time-capsule E-Type has barely begun its journey, and that’s an extremely rare proposition that gives it rare distinction among the 7,990 V-12 roadsters produced from 1971 to 1974.
