50
YEARS OF THE
E-TYPE
2011 marks 50 years since Jaguar rocked the world
1960s-defining E-type. No-one could believe
with its
their luck that this sensuous
150mph rocketship could be theirs for just £2097 Inside our celebration of why the E-type had such an impact
d-type vs e-type
How the Le Mans-winning racer begat the hearts-andminds-winning road car P46
Celebrity E-types
George Harrison, George Best and some famous owners who weren’t called George P56
[[1l]] JANUARY 2011 /classic cars
Sir Jackie’s E-type We interview Jackie Stewart about the car he raced from 1961-63, and track-test it P58
Norman Dewis
Jaguar’s development engineer on how he turned the ‘E’ from designer’s dream to reality P66
50
Jaguar D-type vs E-type
YEARS OF THE
E-TYPE
[[1l]] january 2011 /classic cars
W hat lies beneath The E-type would have been nothing without the D-type. Here’s how race-winning technology influenced the world’s most celebrated sports car Words Mike Goodbun Photography James Lipman
I
t could have been so different. Had Jaguar not spent a decade chasing glory in the world’s toughest races, there’s no way the E-type would have lived up to its ‘most advanced sports car in the world’ fanfare. Instead of Jaguar revealing a daring aerodynamically-shaped projectile with four-wheel disc brakes, independent rear suspension and semi-monocoque construction at the Geneva show in March 1961, the XK150’s successor – whether, and whenever, it arrived – would undoubtedly have sported a more conventional look, drum braking, cart springs and a simple body-on-chassis construction that would have set it apart from precisely none of its rivals. And we certainly wouldn’t be here today, almost 50 years on, still staring dumbfounded at the icon before us. Even Mother Nature seems to empathise with why we’re here: the cataclysmic-looking storm brewing overhead is akin to the meeting of worlds that gave birth to the E-type. The D-type racer and E-type road car are as opposed in function as the bright sunshine and stormy clouds, but they’re undeniably the product of the same mind. Look closer and you’ll find they’re fascinatingly similar in detail too. Our subjects for such probing analysis are two of the most
january 2011 /classic cars [[2r]]
cisitalia ford
Ford’s EXOTIC
Dream
Unlike his down-to-earth grandfather, Henry Ford II had dreams of building a European-style sports car. It was uncharted territory for the big corporation – did it have the men to get it there? Words Rob scorah Photography lyndon mcneil
‘W
hy can’t you design a car as beautiful as this?’ Henry Ford II once asked his assembled design staff as they regarded their chief’s personal car, a 1948 Cisitalia 202 coupé. It was by no means the only Italian car he had owned – Ford also had its cabriolet sibling, as well as a 1952 Ferrari 212 Touring, given to him by Enzo Ferrari. And this was no idle question. Like many in the industry, Ford was no doubt feeling the presence of all those small European sports cars carving out a niche on the airfield racing circuits of America’s east and west coasts. And he must have seen the racy imported two-seaters in Max Hoffman’s showroom and wondered if his own huge operation could produce something similar. If Ford did put such a car into production, would it have looked like this car, so often neglected by Ford historians? This is the 808XF, the only roadster of a trio of Italian-American Ford prototypes from the early Fifties. Looking at its high-waisted sides, low screen and big ovoid grille you’d certainly say it comes from a different mould from the Fords and Mercurys of Fifties America.
Weber (or Dell’Orto) carburettors made way for fuel injection in later competition engines
1970 Ford Cosworth BDA
Block 1601cc, in-line four-cylinder, cast iron Bore 80.98mm Stroke 77.62mm Cylinderhead LM25 aluminium alloy, four valves per cylinder, dohc, belt-driven Fuel system Two Weber 40DCOE carburettors Compression ratio 10:1 Power 120bhp @ 6500rpm Torque 110lb ft @ 4500rpm Weight 168kg (370lb) approx Length 580mm Width 600mm Height 500mm
[[1l]] december 2010 /classic cars
Engines that moved us: Ford Cosworth BDA
Howling success
Based on the humble Ford Kent cylinder block, a raucous dynasty of BDA engines powered Ford Escorts to years of worldwide rally dominance Words Jesse Crosse Photography Lyndon McNeil
I
n 1968 a rallying megastar was born. Not a budding driver who would one day take to the world stage, but a car: the Ford Escort. In MkI and MkII forms it would dominate national and international rallying for two decades, becoming arguably the greatest rally car ever. The Escort replaced the Anglia as a mainstream family car, but when Ford’s Competitions Department gave it a LotusFord Twin Cam engine in 1968 it quickly began to make its mark on the rally scene. The engine that eventually powered the Escort to dominance on the world stage was a further evolution of the Ford Kent motor, this time
conceived by Keith Duckworth at Cosworth. Having previously designed the successful FVA (Four-Valve A-Type) racing engine based on the Ford Kent pre-crossflow cylinder block, Duckworth turned his attention to a roadgoing equivalent, designing a 16-valve cylinderhead with belt-driven, rather than gear-driven, camshafts to fit the Ford Kent crossflow block. The result was the Ford Cosworth BDA (Belt-Drive A-type). The BDA started life as a 1601cc engine. Kent engines had originally been homologated with a 1598cc capacity but this restricted their competition use to the up-to-1600cc class. Ford cleverly changed the way in which it calculated the capacity so that the swept
january 2011 /classic cars [[2r]]
Maserati Kyalami
‘UNDERSTA
[[1l]] january 2011 /classic cars
TED AND
misunderstood’ The Maserati Kyalami convinced few buyers in the late Seventies – but today it has finally cast off its parts-bin image to bask in new-found kudos Words Richard Heseltine Photography lyndon mcneil
H
e was someone who ended most sentences with exclamation marks, a man for whom decorum was something other people had. Saint or sinner, Alejandro de Tomaso was variously genius, dreamer, plotter and schemer. The Argentinian-born motor mogul was an ideas man, a walking contradiction who somehow outlived most of his mistakes. Yet despite his capricious tendencies and his habit of offloading unworkable ideas on hard-done-by factotums, he often got things right. And this car is a case in point. In the exotica caste system the Maserati Kyalami is in many eyes untouchable, a parts-bin special, unworthy of the Trident badge. Yet it arrived just in time to ward off the marque’s looming expiry date and sold in respectable numbers. And, shock horror, it’s a good car.
But to fully understand the Kyalami’s place in Maserati lore you have to back-pedal to the late Sixties. While this decade witnessed some of the greatest works of kinetic sculpture ever created, it also foretold an era of uncertainty. America’s National Safety and Motor Vehicle Act would have a profound effect on supercar manufacturers, more so than any styling trend, as would the combustible relationship between industry and employees on the home front. The writing was on the wall and it was writ large. Independent players were hit more than most and Enzo Ferrari threw in the towel, seeking protection under Fiat’s protective cloak from 1969. Favoured coachbuilder Scaglietti followed almost immediately. The Orsi family, who controlled Maserati, thought along the same lines but looked further afield, and in 1968 this most Latin of marques was sold to Citroën – news of
january 2011 /classic cars [[2r]]
Motor sport icon
Peugeot Sport
Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen 205 T16 sparks an enthusiastic reception on the 1986 East African Safari Rally
PEUGEOT 205 T16 Based on a family runabout, meet the frenzied beast that dominated motor sport’s most insane class Words Martyn morgan Jones Photography lyndon mcneil
R
ally fans and motor manufacturers alike salivated at the mere thought when the FIA began planning its all-new Group B category. And thoughts soon turned to actions: this really was rallying’s greatest shake-up. For many car makers the opportunity to shine on the world stage was too tempting to resist. There were new rules, of course – except they were, well, ‘creative’ and quite unlike anything that had been penned before. Four-wheel drive would be allowed and only 200 cars had to be produced for homologation (with the opportunity to build a further 20 hard-core ‘Evolution’ versions). Thanks to this, plus minimal weight restrictions, the ability to use exotic composite materials and hi-tech components, and the fact that some manufacturers had Croesus-like resources, Group B evolved astonishingly quickly and its rally stages were soon the hunting grounds for a new breed of edgy, feral, and frankly insane machines. This wasn’t rallying as the world knew it; this was confrontation with mortality. One of the manufacturers to passionately embrace the Group B spirit and exploit its loosely-bound regulations was Peugeot. At a press conference in December 1981 the company’s new director of motorsport, Jean Todt, announced Peugeot’s intention to build a Group B rally car. This was just weeks after Talbot, Peugeot’s subsidiary brand, had won the World Rally Championship for Makes with its Group 4 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus. But, although inspired by that car, thanks to Audi and Todt the family connection ended there. Audi’s four-wheel drive quattro had turned the sport on its head; and Todt had a vision that under his direction Peugeot would create a stateof-the-art rally car unencumbered by financial constraints
january 2011 /classic cars [[2r]]
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Inside the back section this month
112 Ads on Test
Looking for a classic? We test five that have gone on sale recently
1963 Abarth 850 TC replica
It only takes a glance to know that this painstakingly assembled replica is going to be a bundle of fun – Russ Smith
122 Talking shop
Spot the surprise interloper in Aston Service London’s workshop
124 OUR CARS
What we’ve been up to in our cars over the past month
129 YOUR CARS
Tell us why your car is special – you could win a £400 watch
130 PRICE GUIDE
Your essential guide to the values of more than 1200 cars
[[1L]] January 2011 /classic cars
L
et’s address the replica question first, because on some cars it is perhaps less of a slight – and also less relevant – than on others. In the case of Abarth 850 TCs, a fair proportion of ‘genuine’ cars were not built by Abarth in the first place, but were conversions on donor Fiat 600s using a kit of parts from Abarth. Which is pretty much how this car came about, only at a later date. The base vehicle used was an immaculate Fiat 600D, and the conversion was done professionally in Italy, though no one is quite sure when. The parts used were all correct Abarth bits – or, at least, replicas of them – and every effort has been made to closely emulate the post-1963 Nürburgring specification for 850 TCs. The car even wears a correct Abarth chassis plate in the engine bay, though no one is claiming this is genuine. Below the propped-open engine cover – said
Cars for sale selected, tested and assessed by the Classic Cars team NEED TO KNOW
Car Abarth 850 TC replica Price £24,995 Contact Thoroughbred Cars, Chigwell, Essex (020 8501 2727, www.thoroughbred -cars.co.uk) Engine 847cc, in-line fourcylinder, ohv Power 55bhp @ 6500rpm Performance Top speed: 92mph; 0-60mph: 15.6sec Fuel consumption 30mpg Length 3353mm Width 1420mm
Left: no fitted seatbelts, but the fire extinguisher is a nice addition
The kit of parts from Abarth was professionally assembled in Italy onto a Fiat 600D base vehicle and fitted with the correct 847cc engine rebuilt to Nürburgring 55bhp spec (below left)
at the time to be for improved cooling, although it actually improved aerodynamics to the tune of an extra 6mph – is the correct 847cc engine, rebuilt to Nürburgring 55bhp specification by marque specialist Carallo in Turin. It revs like a Bosch electric drill, and don’t be fooled into thinking it’s ‘only’ 55bhp. These were race cars, and it’s enough to make this flyweight shell really fly. Acceleration feels much quicker than the period figure quoted above, and the 165/65 tyres cling on like Velcro at any cornering speed we dared to try. Be prepared for the noise though: that engine is always raucous, and takes on quite a boom around the 4000rpm mark, unrestricted by any form of sound deadening materials. There are no figures on the olio pressure gauge, but the needle stayed at the ‘good’ end. The body is flawless, showing no signs of having been welded since the day it left the factory, and is just as white underneath. The wheels are super-light 13in magnesium
Campagnolos, and their matching Bridgestone tyres have little wear on them. Open a rear-hinged door and you find a charming pair of period two-tone bucket seats matched to the rest of the red and white interior. Surprisingly, there are no belts fitted, although there is a fire extinguisher that ties in nicely with the red and white theme. However, we would want to replace the modern Sparco anodised aluminium pedal covers. The Nardi woodrim wheel is nice though. And there are full-floor rubber mats instead of carpets, which looks right too. It is always hard to price something like this, but if you consider that genuine Abarth 850 TCs have sold for as much as £40,000 in recent years, this asking price doesn’t look too far off the mark.
Insurance £150
comprehensive, 5000 miles per year, garaged Call: 01277 206911
Above: the propped-open engine cover for improved cooling also enhances the aerodynamics
Which is which ■ Abarth’s series of cars based on the Fiat 600
begins in April 1956 with the Abarth 750 version of the Fiat’s diminutive engine stretched to 747cc and 51.5bhp. Unable to build cars fast enough to meet demand, the conversion is also offered as a kit of parts for enthusiasts to assemble their own Abarth 750s. ■ In 1960, Fiat ups the engine capacity for the new 600D model to 767cc. In Abarth’s hands this grows to 847cc and the Abarth 750 becomes the Abarth 850 with a choice of 52, 55 or 57bhp, depending largely on which compression ratio you choose. Again, the conversion is sold as a kit as well as completed cars. ■ After a win in the 1963 Nürburgring 500km race the 55bhp cars wear celebratory ‘Nürburgring’ logos on the dash and engine cover. 57bhp cars become ‘SS’ and then ‘Corsa’.
January 2011 /classic cars [[2R]]