six-cylinder cars but to consider it as a kind of
more elegant version of the XJ-S, offering the
refinement which is lacking in the older cars.
By the time the E-Type was revised into its
third generation in 1971, the original design was
beginning to show its age and in the important
US market the more modern domestic muscle all
sported V8 power.
The answer was to leapfrog the competition
entirely by creating a V12 engine, a format otherwise
offered only by the Italian supercar brands.
With Jaguar's acquisition of engine maker
Coventry Climax in 1963, Walter Hassan had
returned to the fold and was entrusted with the
development of the new engine. Initial work
involved effectively joining up a pair of the twin-
cam XK six-cylinder engines and the unit proved
workable in the XJ13 concept. However, it would
have proved over-complex – for which, read
costly – to produce in volume and so the design
which appeared in the E-Type was a simpler
single-cam unit, running carbs instead of the
intended fuel injection which simply couldn't be
readied in time.
Despite packing twice the number of cylinders
as the XK, the all-aluminium V12 weighed just 36
kg more than the older engine, although installing
it in the E-Type did involve a stretch of the car's
front-end structure with the front outriggers
enlarged and strengthened.
In V12 form, the E-Type's track was widened
and the wheelarch lips flared to cover the tyres,
with all cars now based on the long-wheelbase
2+2 platform. With standard power steering
and optional automatic, many felt the E-Type
had lost its edge and become too soft... but in
many ways they missed the point. The automatic
box suited the lazy but powerful V12 very well
and power steering was really what the market
demanded at this price level. In short, the
Series 3 V12 E-Type was a credible attempt at
modernising a 10-year old design and the wider
track does in some ways make it look better
planted with the wheels filling the arches neatly.
Of course these days the Series 3 is the most
affordable of all the E-Types which means that
few of those who so often criticise the Series 3
will have sampled a decent example.
Just recently I had the fortune to experience
a back-to-back test with a shabby V12 auto
followed by a superbly well-sorted manual and
I can report that a properly set-up V12, even in
self-shifting form, is a mighty beast more than
worthy of the legend. As the 300 lbf.ft of torque
sweeps that iconic bonnet towards the horizon
with incomparable refinement, suddenly the
series 1 3.8 with its paltry six cylinders seems
terribly mundane... despite its £100,000 price
tag. CCM
The Facts
1965 Jaguar E-type S3 coupé
Engine: 5343cc SOHC V12
Max power: 276bhp at 5850rpm
Max speed: 150mph
0-60mph: 6.4 secs
Economy: 13mpg
58 Classic Car Mart Spring 2016
Toggle switches were replaced for the
Series 3 with safety-conscious rocker
switches. Automatic was now an option but
suited the lazy V12 superbly.
The fantail of quad exhausts was a signature of the V12, making the point that the car in front almost
certainly had more cylinders than you... unless, that is, you were driving a Ferrari or Lamborghini.