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Not only was this 1961 E-Type the first open-two-seater to feature factory seat belt mountings but it was later transformed into an evocation of the rare Lightweight model
S OME ARE born great, some achievegreatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” wrote William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. If the famous quote can also be applied to cars then it perfectly describes this 1961 E-Type open-two-seater. Not only is it a very early model that saw plenty of action on the track but it was later turned into a largely accurate copy of a rare Lightweight model.
If that doesn’t make it a great car with a great history, then I don’t know what does. Built on 13 December, 1961 and painted in Opalescent Dark Blue with a grey interior, chassis number 850301 was the first right-hand-drive open twoseater E-Type to feature factory-fitted seatbelt anchorage points. Sold via Henlys of London and despatched on 2 January, 1962, it was originally bought by Mr H A Pierpoint – father of future double British Saloon Car Champion, Roy Pierpoint – for his daughter, Patricia.
Although Patricia has recently confirmed the car was part-exchanged at HMW Motors in Walton-in-Thames in the mid-Sixties, the next few years are a mystery. It’s said by some the E-Type was subsequently owned by two British racing drivers, Mick Jones from Surrey and later Fred Cliffe of Halifax, who both campaigned the car throughout the rest of the decade. But this has been dismissed by others who reckon that was another car.
What it is known for certain is that by the early Seventies 850301 was in the hands of another racing driver and well known E-Type specialist, Philip Bennett from Leeds in Yorkshire, who would race the car over the next three years. In 1973 he was involved in a serious accident at Longridge, a short circuit built in the former Tootle Heights quarry close to the Lancashire town of the same name, that left the car badly damaged.
Bennett kept 850301 in this state until the early Nineties when he rebuilt the E-Type, bringing it close to full Lightweight specification.
Considered by many as the ultimate E-Type, for Jaguar enthusiasts the term ‘lightweight’ is as exciting as ‘lost Da Vinci’ is for art historians. Although the company pulled out of competition in 1956 and the E-Type was subsequently raced by private teams, Jaguar still needed to keep the car competitive, especially in the face of new stiff opposition such as the Ferrari 250. in early 1963, Jaguar developed a lightweight model inspired by 885006, an accident-damaged very early E-Type OTS which had been returned to the works and rebuilt with a thin gauge steel monocoque and aluminium bonnet, boot, doors and hardtop produced by local coachbuilder Abbey Panels. The pa
