A Tale of Two E-Types

It was a beautiful weekend in Birmingham, Ala., for the annual Legend of Motorsport event to take place at Barber Motorsports Park. The nearly 90 cars that took to the track absolutely sparkled beneath the cloudless sky, especially those that competed in the special E‑Type run group, sponsored by Jaguar Cars in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the iconic E‑Type.

Photo: Dennis Lathem

The run group was part of the “race‑within‑a‑race” for the “Thunder & Lightning Production Cars” group of cars. The E‑Types were in the same group as Porsche, Lotus, Corvette, Ford Capri and Escort, Elva and Ginetta and competed for overall honors as well as those especially for E‑Types.

While the on‑track activity was the primary focal point for the spectators, also drawing its share of attention was the Jaguar product display in the track paddock, adjacent to the main tower building.

“We've had a lot of interest in the cars,” said Doug Van Den Brink, who along with Jaguar racing champion, Davy Jones manned the display all weekend long. While the XF drew its share of attention, the other car on display was the real star – the 2012 XKR‑S.

“People absolutely love it,” Doug added. “One gentleman came back four times. And his wife came back with him twice. I'm pretty sure his first stop Monday morning will be to his local dealership to put his deposit down for one.

As colorful and exciting as the action on the track was, there were interesting stories all around the paddock. Two of the most interesting stories came from two of the E‑Type competitors.

Terry Lippincott, the owner and driver of a dark British Racing Green 1963 E‑Type and his wife Karen, have had pretty much a life‑long love affair with Jaguar cars.

Photo: Courtesy of Legends of Motorsports

“Well I was the one who first fell in love with the E‑Type. Terry was working as a tool and die maker in our native Connecticut when I first saw and fell in love with the E‑Type,” said Karen. And they have had Jaguars ever since; “Forty‑five years worth,” she added.

Photo: Courtesy of Legends of Motorsports

The Lippincott's had been married for less than a year when they bought their first Jaguar, a 1962 E‑Type. Since money was scarce for the newlyweds. Even so, they bought what Terry called “that big factory shop manual.”

That E‑Type gave way to a 1965 E‑Type that they still own today. They also added a Mark 2 Sedan as Karen’s everyday driver, which was later replaced by a 1967 420 Sedan. “We still own the 420 as well,” added Karen.

Pretty soon Terry was not only fixing his mini Jaguar fleet of two cars, but on one Saturday he counted 13 E‑Types parked in the street in front of their house.”All customers!”

Finally, after 35 years, Terry quit the tool and die making job to make their Jaguar repair and restoration business his full‑time work.

The Lippincott's most touching story however, had to do with how they came to own their most cherished E‑Type, the 1963 that races in the “Thunder & Lightning” class of the Legends of Motorsports group of events.

“The car originally belonged to our best friend, Ray Kennedy,” Karen began and almost immediately began to mist up. “Ray was a dear, sweet man. He was friends with Brian Redman.”

“We were at Brian’s Jefferson 500 at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia, when Ray had a terrible accident that resulted in his tragic death."

Determined to resurrect the E‑Type racer and friend Ray so dearly loved, Terry & Karen, with the help of one of their long‑time customers, Tom Henwood, purchased the wreck and began the painstaking, and often emotionally painful, job of restoring the E‑Type.

“We even have the Jaguar Heritage certificate for the car. It was sold to a J.J. Altman of Ontario, New York and it was delivered at the factory on November 27, 1962,” Terry said proudly.

This weekend's Legends of Motorsport race didn’t turn out that well for Terry. In what most called a classic “racing incident,” too many cars went for too little race track and the resulting minor crash put Terry out for the remainder of the first race and the rest of the weekend.

The other E‑Type competitor in this weekend's race was a silver car with red stripes across the nose and a black removable hardtop that belonged to Tom Murphy of Houston, Texas.

Photo: Dennis Lathem

When asked why he chose a Jaguar, Tom’s answer was direct. “Because I wanted something to race that was interesting and cool!”

“They are truly iconic cars and very few people race them. I will tell you that this car attracts attention everywhere it goes,” he added.

“The car, according to the Jaguar Heritage Certificate, was sold new in Greenwich, CT in 1963. It only remained there as a street car for a short period of time and then it went to the West Coast and became a race car. There it won several Cal Club championships before it was retired.”

“From there it was purchased by Donovan Motorcar Service, who restored the car and raced her for a few years. The car is the ‘real deal’ and it has an SVRA Medallion to prove it,” he said pointing proudly to the small plaque with the number “6‑0017” inscribed on it.

Photo: Dennis Lathem

Tom fared considerably better by the end of the weekend, being the highest placed finisher in the E‑Type class and 4th overall in class against several Porsches, a couple of Corvettes, four Lotuses and the odd Ginetta and Elva.

The next Jaguar E‑Type race is scheduled for July 14‑17 at the Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman at Road America in Elkhart Lake, IN.