World’s most beautiful car?

A company in England has completed a painstaking 3,500-hour restoration and bespoke upgrade on a Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadster.

Famously described by Enzo Ferrari as the most beautiful car in the world, thanks to E-Type UK it now delivers a “fast road” driving experience to match its looks.

The subject of the job was a 1961 left-hand-drive model first delivered new to Puerto Rico. After many years overseas, it returned to the UK, being bought by the current owner as the basis for creating his ultimate open-top E-Type.

He tasked Kent-based E-Type UK with further refining the car’s elegant 1960s bodywork to create something more purposeful with elevated modern performance to match. 

The customer, who is now using the vehicle exclusively in warmer climates, instructed the team to remove the soft top entirely to create a true speedster.

As with all the firm’s restoration projects, the process began with a full strip-down of the shell and removing all components. The team then assessed the body panels to ensure structural integrity before carefully blasting them to remove half a century of build-up.

During the analysis, it was discovered that significant repairs to the shell were needed with multiple panels badly corroded or rotted from years of exposure to the elements. 

E-Type UK seized this opportunity to further refine the bodywork and enhance that iconic 1960s design with a de-seamed bonnet and tailgate, including further rounding of bodywork edges.

The de-seaming process also allowed specialists to remove exterior chrome work for a cleaner look, including the exterior door handles.

They were replaced with a subtle internal electronic release. 

The new aesthetic was capped off by custom headlight covers and – with no need to accommodate a soft top – all finishing edges have been rounded.

With the metalwork complete, the silhouette of the E-Type emerged anew and then was surfaced before being treated with a coat of opalescent gunmetal for a rich finish. The painting process took more than 400 hours in all.

An interior to match

The same attention to detail was paid to the interior with the E-Type UK team creating a custom, totally transformed cabin. 

A custom finish was applied to the seats, sills and carpets, which were adorned in red diamond-quilted leather. This was offset by a gleaming, period correct aluminium centre console and dash, housing the iconic original line-up of Smiths gauges.

The team has also fabricated a bespoke storage area across the rear bulkhead, which was trimmed in matching leather and pattern. 

This storage space also doubles up as a useful seating area for furry friends, ensuring the families beloved pets can tag along for the ride. E-Type UK has supplied a removable padded section for added pet-friendly comfort.

Pursuit of perfection

The team has spent hundreds more hours on work beneath the car’s skin, with refreshed and overhauled mechanical components. 

While the car was in paint, the team had been hard at work preparing and enhancing its vital elements, such as its 3.8-litre straight-six engine which was finished to a “fast road” specification.

The motor has been overhauled from top to bottom in E-Type UK’s workshops. After being fully stripped down, the block was honed and bored with high-lift cams and new bearings fitted, along with bronze valve guides, uprated valves, a ported head and balanced crank. 

It’s now fed by fully rebuilt triple SU carbs, with an increased compression ratio and new lighter flywheel. The car also benefits from electronic ignition, sport-ignition coil, high-torque starter motor and lightweight alternator. 

All this has been complemented by an uprated, performance cooling system and larger fan, for dramatically improved airflow.

These changes have created a powerplant that now revs with a newfound urgency, emitting a straight-six roar in the process, which is now all the more enveloping thanks to the new “speedster” layout. 

The motor drives through a brand-new, mechanical five-speed manual gearbox, and the enhanced performance is kept in check thanks to upgraded adjustable suspension and sports-performance brakes.