For approximately one out of every half-million people on planet Earth, Jaguar Classic has some potentially welcome news. With about 15,490 examples built between 1961 and 1964, and fewer still remaining, Jaguar’s E-Type Series 1—fitted with a 3.8-liter engine—remains the most popular of all Jaguar classics, as well as being a fabulous performer and a watershed design. Even mercurial old Enzo Ferrari remarked, when seeing it for the first time, that “Jaguar’s E-Type is the most beautiful car in the world.”
Under the long and unmistakable “bonnet” of the XK-E resides an engine as significant as the car itself, and what may be the most important inline-six ever made. Designed by Jag’s chief engineer William Haynes, it began in 1949 as a 3.4-liter, dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) and soldiered on in various displacements—from 2.4- to 4.2 liters—until 1992. Perhaps the most successful was the 3.8-liter, fitted not just to the first Series 1 E-Types, but to many Jaguar sedans and sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The 3.8-liter version saw considerable success on the track, and even road cars equipped with straight-port cylinder heads developed a very respectable 265 hp, while Jaguar race cars of the era were topping 300 hp.
Fully tested and approved by Jaguar Classic engineers, new 3.8-liter Jaguar XK engine blocks are priced at approximately $17,914 and come with a minimum 12 months Jaguar parts and accessories warranty as well a certificate of authenticity. No doubt, owners of less common classic marques, especially those with an additional six cylinders configured in the shape of a V, are turning British Racing Green with envy.