CLASSIC DRIVE
We find a very French interpretation of the E-Type in a lightweight style
IN THE world of classic cars the business of doing something different often tends to be disappointingly follow-the-herd: witness the hordes of Sebring-kitted MGBs out there, all those ‘backdated’ 1980s Porsche 911s – and let’s not overlook the countless DeLorean DMC-12s bedecked with Weetabix-box-and-Dymo-tape Flux Capacitors.
The Jaguar world tends to avoid the problem to some extent, particularly the E-Type where ever-rising values tend to discourage significant body modification. If you do see an E-Type which has been heavily modified, it’s likely to be a highbudget job and will more than likely be a slavish homage to the famous lightweightbodied racers with their drilled bodywork and riveted extensions.
What it most certainly won’t be – mainly because it’s either unique or one of only two made, depending on who you believe – is anything quite like the car you see here. Bodied in a lightweight style but influenced by the styling of Ferrari’s 1950s Monza racers, the car has had a fascinating history since first leaving Coventry and stands out in the E-Type world as something refreshingly different.
Others may disagree of course, but that’s certainly what we thought when owner Paul Briggs first showed us some photos of the car. We’d been discussing his plans to outfit his Series 3 (itself a car with an interesting provenance) with a Tremec five-speed box, but when we noticed the red car in the background, sensible discussion of manual gearbox conversions in classic Jaguars rather went out of the window.
“It’s like Wallace and Gromit meet Malcolm Sayer,” laughs Paul which sums up the car rather neatly, although it seems like the workmanship which went into both the restoration and modification was top notch.
The car itself began life in 1967 and was despatched to its first owner, a Shirley Edghill via Jaguar Cars in New York, with the Jaguar remaining in the USA until 1996 when it was imported to Toulouse by new owner Jacques Baron.
On arrival in France it was entrusted to well-known French E-Type specialist Serge Bouzignac, who was tasked with restoring the car and converting it to an evocation of the lightweight racers similar to a blue 1962 coupe he had already created. The engine, gearbox and suspension were also rebuilt and in 2000 the Jaguar passed to its second French owner, M. Labourie who it seems was living something of a dream life down in the South of France: he reputedly used the E-Type simply to travel between his house and his yacht...
In 2009 M Labourie sold the car to a friend, Stéphane Berteil, who sent the car back to the same restoration firm, by then operated by M Bouzignac’s nephew where it underwent a complete nut-and-bolt restoration and a second engine
