This text was not translated, because it is originally in English
This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous and desirable cars in automotive history – the Jaguar E-Type.

Jaguar Cars will be celebrating this special anniversary year with the companys passionate followers at high-profile motoring events throughout 2011.

The company will mark this anniversary at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and then the 2011 New York International Auto Show, where the first E-type respectively made its world and US debuts. This global celebration will continue with activities at the Goodwood Revival, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, the Nürburgring Old Timer Grand Prix, the Monterey Historics, and at customer, club, dealer and lifestyle events worldwide.

When launched in 1961, the appeal of E-Type transcended the automotive world. So highly regarded were its inherent rightness of proportion, stance, and purity of line, it was installed as an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It remains in their permanent collection to this day.

The iconic E-Type set new standards in automotive design and performance when it was introduced in 1961. Its influence is still apparent in Jaguars modern range: cars that offer a peerless blend of performance, comfort, cutting-edge technology and award-winning design.

Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type, said Mike ODriscoll, Managing Director Jaguar Cars and Chairman Jaguar Heritage. It was a sensation when it was launched, and remains Jaguars most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguars founder, Sir William Lyons.

E-Type owners included celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Brigitte Bardot, and Tony Curtis. This sports car became as synonymous with the Swinging Sixties as the Beatles and the mini skirt.

It is impossible to overstate the impact the E-Type had when it was unveiled in 1961, said Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director. Here was a car that encapsulated the spirit of the revolutionary era it came to symbolize. The E-Type is a design that even today continues to inform the work we do in styling the Jaguars of the future.

Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, Jaguars E-Type caused a sensation. Capable of achieving 150mph, but costing a fraction of the price of rivals with similar performance, it was the affordable supercar and became an instant icon – remaining on sale for 14 years.

E-Type facts for editors:

  • [ ][ ]The E-Type was first presented to the worlds press at the restaurant du Parc des Eaux Vives in Geneva on 15th March 1961. Such was the media excitement and clamor for demonstration runs up a nearby hillclimb that Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons instructed chief test driver Norman Dewis to drive through the night from Coventry to bring another model to Switzerland.
  • [ ][ ]The E-Type was also known as the XK-E in the United States.
  • [ ][ ]The North American debut took place at the New York Auto Show in April 1961.
    • [ ][ ]Collateral material available with this release:
      • [ ][ ]Jaguar Cars New York Press Release from 1961
        [ ]Photograph of the 1961 New York Auto Show Jaguar Display
        [ ]1961 Advertisement that appeared in the New Yorker™
  • [ ][ ]A total of 72,520 E-Types were produced of which 83% were exported from the UK. 43,765 were delivered to the USA, and sold as the XK-E.
  • [ ][ ]Even Enzo Ferrari admitted it was the most beautiful car in the world.
  • [ ][ ]The E-types straight-six engine had powered Jaguar to five Le Mans victories in the 1950s and by 1961 in 3. 8-litre form produced 265bhp and 260lb ft of torque, making the car a genuine 150mph proposition and, like its XK120 predecessor, the fastest production car in the world.
  • [ ][ ]At launch the E-Type cost $5595 for the Roadster or OTS (Open two-seater) and $5895 for the Coupe or FHC (Fixed head coupe) this included standard wire wheels. Adjusted for inflation in 2011 dollars, the E-type would cost about $41,000 for the roadster and $43,000 for the coupe.
  • [ ][ ]The E-Types perfectly proportioned bodywork was the work of Malcolm Sayer, an aeronautical engineer by training who also applied his aerodynamic expertise in shaping the earlier Le Mans-winning C and D-Type racers.
  • [ ][ ]The E-type remained in production for 14 years, selling more than 70,000 units, making it Europes first mass-produced sports car.