When I was growing up I had a pretty fabulous HO setup for racing cars with an integrated train set.  My dad had fabricated a fold down wall unit, essentially a 4x8 piece of plywood with paper mache tunnels and bridges, where the race track was over top of the train tracks.  The setup had full lighting in the accompanying buildings and other infrastructure.


Of the racing cars, my brother had a Corvette, and mine was a Jaguar XKE.  My
appreciation for that particular model continues through to this day.  When I was in the UK in 1986, I visited a fabrication shop that specialized in restoring these fabulous cars.  And they are turning fifty - life soldiers on.

Jaguar E-Type turning 50, doesn't look a day over 25 (Autoblog)

by Jeff Glucker (RSS feed) on Jan 26th, 2011 at 5:00PM

Jaguar E-Type turns 50 years old – Click above for high-res image gallery

Jaguar's iconic E-type is celebrating a birthday this year and the shapely Brit is going to need 50 candles on its cake. Launched in 1961, the Jaguar E-Type was priced at £2,256, or about $3,612 USD based on current exchange rates. That £2,200 cost translates to £38,000 today, or about $61,000... a bargain compared to other exotic sports cars of its time and it was just as capable, with a top speed of 150 miles per hour.

Jaguar sold 70,000 E-Types over the course of 14 years and its style still holds up to this day. In fact, the styling of the E-Type gives other cars of any era cause to look in the mirror and weep silently. Even Enzo Ferrari called it "the most beautiful car in the world."

To honor the sultry coupe, Jaguar is planning a variety of motoring events throughout the year. The brand is the featured marquee at the 2011 Monterey Motorsports reunion and E-Types will be the toast of this year'sPebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Nürburgring Old Timer Grand Prix and kicking off the birthday festivities will be the Silverstone Classic.

Click past the jump for details on the E-Type and its 50th birthday celebrations.

Gallery:Jaguar E-Type turns 50 years old

• 
• 
• 

[Sources: Jaguar, Silverstone Classic]

Read more →