Jaguar Associate Group Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the E-Type

It is the oldest Jaguar Club in the world and its name sounds more like a mergers and acquisitions firm than a car club, but they sure know how to throw a birthday party.

On the weekend of June 10‑12, the Jaguar Associate Group in San Francisco held a celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the Jaguar E‑type at the famed Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Calif. More than 30 Jaguar E‑Type vehicles were on hand to be a part of the occasion.

The weekend‑long celebration began on Friday evening with a reception and was followed on Saturday with a driving tour of the Napa wine region. Various Jaguar vehicles took part in the drive; from early saloon cars to a 2011 Jaguar XJL.

After lunch at a winery and the return drive down to Danville, a gala dinner was held on Saturday evening with guest speaker B. J. Colaric, General Manager, Sales Operation for Jaguar Cars North America. B.J. took guests through some of the E‑Type celebrations Jaguar has planned for the upcoming months to celebrate the iconic model's 50th Anniversary, which includes the Monterey Motorsports Reunion and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. B.J also spoke about Jaguar's latest product line, including the XKR‑S and the C‑X75 hybrid supercar.

A major highlight of the weekend was the Concours d’ Elegance on the grounds of the prestigious Blackhawk Automotive Museum on Sunday, which is affiliated with The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. Jaguar E‑Type cars were on display, along with Jaguar C‑Type and D‑Type vehicles, as well as numerous sedans and even an XK‑SS.

In addition to classic cars, there were also several race cars on display at The Blackhawk. One particular vehicle was a 1965 E‑Type that had been race prepared at Coventry and shipped to a dealer in Washington, DC. There it was sold and within one week the racing windscreen had replaced the standard one, and the car was racing at Watkins Glen, NY, the very next week. The car has been a racer for most of its’ life.

Also on display was one of the three “bespoke” racing 1963 Jaguar E‑Type vehicles the American sportsman, Briggs S. Cunningham had built by the factory to what is referred to as “Semi‑Lightweight” specification. The cars were Drop Head Coupes, as opposed to the fastback coupe the Cunningham team raced at Le Mans and finished fourth at Le Mans in 1962.

These cars, while they had many of the true “Lightweights’” aluminum body panels, fuel injection and high performance cylinder head, still retained the street car’s cast iron engine block. Of the three cars built, only two remain, making this Jaguar E‑Type racer a very rare cat indeed.

“Overall, it was a very impressive display,” observed guest speaker Colaric. “The cars were impressive and the Museum is impressive. All in all, it was a great weekend for Jaguar.”