With a long list of owners that included George Best, Brigitte Bardot and Steve McQueen, the Jaguar E-Type was always destined for legendary status. 2011 will mark the car’s 50th anniversary – fifty years since those unique automotive lines and unmistakable radiator grille changed the course of car design forever. It remains as popular today as it always has been – although with half a century under its belt, any owner would be well advised to ensure their roadside assistance cover was fully up to date.
The car that Enzo Ferrari called “the most beautiful car in the world” is certainly having a fuss made over it this year. The Geneva Motor Show will be hosting the main celebrations, where the car was unveiled exactly 50 years ago, way back in 1961. Other nostalgic revelries will be taking place at the Goodwood Revival, the Festival of Speed, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the thrilling Old Timer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
Few cars can claim to have been built for over 14 years, but the E-Type can. 70,000 people simply couldn’t resist getting hold of one, even if the price tag was the equivalent of £38,000 in today’s money. Even the eternally hard-to-please Jeremy Clarkson named it his favourite car of all time. An accolade indeed.
With so many revivals and re-vamps of cars from the 1960s (Mini and Beetle to name but two) which also turned out to be huge successes, one can’t help wonder if Jaguar will try to capitalise on this British classic and bring the E-Type’s eye popping styling to a new audience. Personally, I hope they don’t, since the old version is still the best in my mind, even if it does roadside assistance require a little more often than its modern day equivalents.
Breakdown Cover from 
