The Jaguar XKE seemed the fulfilment of a long - held dream : a roadgoing racing car . If you were the form of equipment driver for whom the Jaguar XKE carried that substance , you draw end the car with a sensory faculty of awe border on awe .
Jaguar Image Gallery
Packaged in one flatus - pierce missile was a race - proven twin - cam railway locomotive with three carbs , a four - speed gear box , a special - slip-up differential , to the full sovereign suspension , all - wheel disc brakes ( still inboard at the rear ! ) , rack - and - pinion guidance , and a lightweight soma feature a unification of space - frame and monocoque engineering science .
The XKE was the child of the Jaguar D - Type , three times a winner at LeMans , and looked it . Better , the XKE performed almost like the D - Type .
Even so , its great artistry amount with all the silky smooth sophistication customary in Jaguars , that feline conflux of muscularity with manner that left no one unmoved on levels both noetic and enteral . Yet even for corroborate Jaguar enthusiasts , this car was something new .
Twelve days of familiarity with the Jaguar XK - series had breed a notion in some quarters that Jaguar ’s two - seaters were physically too big and heavy to be " true " sport cars . Yet against the Jaguar XK 150 , particularly , the XKE seems almost petite .
Despite that long nozzle , it is an inch - and - a - half shorter overall , and six inches briefer in wheelbase . Its rounded bodywork is an inch all-embracing , but caterpillar track measure an in - and - a - one-half narrower . agree roofline to roofline , the XKE coupe stand a remarkable seven in lower . And it weighs several hundred pounds less than the closed in XK 150 .
This notion of compact efficiency continues as you enter the very unretentive door and fold yourself into its narrow opening ( fewer than 21 column inch freestanding windscreen mail from door latch pillar ) . The sill is relatively high off the ground , and a bulky seven inches all-inclusive . At a diameter of 16 in , the steering wheel pirate some of the space your legs want as they slip in .
You are prosperous enough once settled , but the D - Type ’s " performance - first " racing doctrine is very observable in the snug XKE cockpit . Within the forgetful wheelbase , the engine sits further back than in the XK 140/150 , and while home mass is fair to middling , it is scarce generous . In fact , shoulder and head way are each an inch tighter than in the 150 coupe .
However , the instrument panel and steering steering wheel seem far away . The wheel still adjust for reach via a friction collar on the pillar and , reviving a adept idea from the Greco-Roman Jaguar SS 100 , can be adjust for profligate via a twist . Both newspaper column and pedals angle away from the engine , so you are at once witting of sit with your legs slightly askew and with the rack tilt in your hands .
The wheel itself appears high - set , but is lovely to behold . In the flair of the day it is large across but thin in the rim , made of svelte wood and aluminium , and has racy " lightening holes " drilled into its spokes .
Those spokes are quite resilient , though , which can provide a upsetting amount of flex in your script . The seat seems minimum : thin in the padding and short in the backrest .
Because you no longer perch atop a separate chassis , as in the XKs , you feel snuggle much downhearted comparative to both macadam and car . The shifter knob now stand almost as marvellous as the flat horn boss in the center of the direction bicycle , and is only a handspan away from the rim .
For the first time on a Jaguar play machine since the SS 100 , primary instruments – rev tabulator and speedometer – are locate directly in front of the gadget driver . And the tach has been changed so the phonograph needle now go around in the same clockwise direction as the speedo .
Peer through the all-encompassing but shallow windshield – so shallow it requires three myopic contact arm blade for coverage – and you are captivated by the sensuous curves of the toughie . There is enough bodywork falling away out of mountain to make you concern a little in tight quarter , but then , this machine was not turn out for tight quarters .
That beautiful bulge rising so prominently in the center of the " bonnet " distinguish the tale ; it seems to be pointing the means to the far terminal of the unimaginably fast Mulsanne Straight . Or to any horizon you like to imagine .
For more on Jaguar and other majuscule car , see :
Jaguar XKE Driving Experience
A push button of the starter button and the Jaguar XKE come alive with a spine - tingling growl , that classic Jaguar sound . At once suave and wildcat , it conjures the look-alike of Tarzan in a tuxedo .
With effortless relaxation , the farsighted - CVA engine seems to pick the car up and move it down the road in an oily - suave feline lope . As your foot goes down harder , the growl interchange to a predatory snarl . It is a true monition .
Although there is hatful of muscle at lower revolutions per minute , at about 3,500 rpm the 3.8 railway locomotive takes a rich breath , the fumes banker’s bill becomes a fantastic howl , and the beast seems to jump off for the redline . No cherry-red - full-blooded partizan can mayhap have a soul so dead as to not feel exhilarate by the XK six .
Even magazine writers had trouble maintain professional objectiveness . One of the first to fail was John Bolster , whose mill - press - fleet XKE , a Fixed Head Coupe , was delivered with the promising British registration plateful 9600 HP .
His report ran in the issue ofAutosportappearing in England on Friday , March 17,1961 , two days after the XKE was first revealed and just as it was urinate its unveiling in Switzerland .
" If Les Vingt - Quatre Heures du Mans has been responsible for the new ' E ' Type Jaguar , " write Bolster , " then that Homeric contest on the Sarthe circuit has been profusely justified . " Bolster had always written favorably of Jaguars , but he strained for peak in writing of this one .
" Here we have one of the quietest and most flexible cars on the market , " the writer rhapsodise , " adequate to of voicelessness along in top gear at 10 m.p.h . or leaping into its 150 m.p.h . pace on the abbreviated depression of a pedal .
" A practical touring car , this , with its wide doors and capacious luggage space , yet it has a out-and-out beauty of bank line which easily beats the Italians at their own particular game … All this , and 20 m.p.g . [ 17 U.S. ] saving too , comes at a price which is about half that of the current harvest of glamour - wagons .
" It is all the more noteworthy that this Grand Touring car equivalence excellence is instantly descended from the Le Mans - win ' calciferol ' eccentric . The Jaguar engine is one of the most awesome achievements of modern times …. " Some hoi polloi are toilsome to please .
But " all-inclusive doors " ? Well , Bolster would probably have crawled in through a keyhole to drive this automobile . " To give some idea of the possible performance , " he explain , " allow us seek to imagine an even lighter [ Jaguar ] XK 150S with a greatly improve flowing incursion . Let us then envisage the practical liquidation of wheelspin by virtue of the I.R.S. The outcome , of course , is something out of this world …. "
By " I.R.S. , " Bolster meant the XKE ’s new sovereign rearward suspension , which he counted a rattling economic value . One performance limitation of both the D - Type racer and the hot - engine XK sport car had been their " unrecorded " beam - type rearward axle .
" Live " referred to the method by which it was mounted , but driver of high - execution Jaguars would have been forgive for thinking it was called " hot " for the style it bounded about on bump or tramped violently when too much force limit a roulette wheel spinning .
All that was history in the XKE . Observed Bolster : " Autosporthas always championed the independent suspension of the rearward wheels , and we have often wondered what a Jaguar would be like with this suitable aim feature . Now we know , and the result is – it ’s a winner ! "
Jaguar XKE Acceleration
Acceleration , Bolster enthuse , was " almost unbelievable … In the past , only rush along and the heavy sport / racing cars have been open of breaking 15 seconds for the standing quarter - air mile . The S Type actually clocked 15.1 secs . on a wet road and 14.8 on an almost juiceless one …. "
His 0 - 60 fourth dimension was 6.8 seconds . For top speed he recorded 148.1 mph , although " a strong side wind was blowing at the time , and I am happy to call this a genuine 150 m.p.h . car . " A speed of 145 , he preserve , " came up from clock time to time during ordinary road motoring . " He did explain that to see these speeds with the standard 3.31 axle ratio , one had to venture beyond the 5,500 - rev redline , which Jaguar had told him was " permissible " in top gear . " I bump that 5,800 r.p.m . was very quickly gain , the last 200 r.p.m . deal rather longer to come up . "
Powerful disc brakes and unwavering , antiphonal handling made such f number seem reasonable . " The wet road behaviour is indeed excellent , a slight initial understeer being apace convert to a balanced experimental condition or a rear slide , depending on the spatial relation of the accelerator pedal pedal . On ironical roads , the most outstanding feature film is the machine ’s behaviour on profligate , unfastened bends . Quite appreciable curve ball may be rounded at 110 m.p.h . , and full gas pedal may be held without any tendency to ' misplace it . " '
Bolster also made the important point that Jaguar ’s conscientious growth of a rear subframe mount on rubber bushings had eradicate one of the chief argument against sovereign rearward suspension : haphazardness intrusion into the cockpit . The XKE , he said , was quieter in terms of gear wheel whimper and route rumble than most conventionally suspended railcar .
For his part , Autosporteditor Gregor Grant had this gratulatory ejector seat for Coventry : " It is a dependable conception of a innovative sports machine , display feature film which could only have result from intensive development work and a racing history …. "
standardised thought filled public prints all over the humanity . Seldom has any new car received the voluminous coverage lavished on the XKE during 1961 . Not only was it sexy and sensational , range right up there with recognize supercars , it was attainable .
At $ 5,595 in the U.S. , it was less than half the cost of a contemporaneous Ferrari . As with the XK 120 , many thousands of hoi polloi would be capable to buy the XKE . And that made it crucial .
Five daylight after British readers had devouredAutosport’stest , The Motor’scame out . It told a tale of 3,000 miles in England and on the Continent with an receptive two seater .
The stave had anticipated that the XKE would be " something of a landmark in sports - car procession " but they were resoundingly convinced after their week ’s voiceless motoring : " oddly enough , its very cheeseparing connection in purpose and appearance with competition Jaguars gives people the impression that this is essentially a racing machine with all the limitations for ordinary role that this implies .
" Nothing could be farther from the truth ; true , it is quite well the immobile car ever test byThe Motor , but the roadholding is entirely capable of handling the king , the springing is more well-situated than that of many sober touring railway car and the engine is highly flexible and devoid of temperament .
" The repose and delicacy of control is such that 220 b.h.p./ton was no embarrassment at all on the packed snow and internal-combustion engine of Swiss mountain passes using ordinary racing tyre . "
" average racing tire " ? Well , the manufacturer did list Dunlop R5s as an optional spear carrier . With these good boots , plus a weight advantage of about 100 pounds over the coupe , Motor ’s two-seater drive to 60 in a breezy 7.1 second and through the standing quarter in 15.0 ( a retest on normal Dunlop Road Speeds dropped that to 14.7 ) .
maximal speed was 149.1 mph with the easy top up . Here , too , the engine was ask 500 rpm into the red zone . The cost of all this speed was a " touring fuel consumption " of just under 18 knot per U.S. gallon .
Jaguar XKE Handling
As a driving instrument , the Jaguar XKE was ascertain to be a delight in many ways .
The main rear suspension was able to give a soft ride over bumpy roads allied with a touch sensation of smashing stability . The steering was light , smooth and exact " to an salient degree , " yet there was little kickback . Body rigidness was hold eminent for a convertible .
As for handling , Motor’sdescription likely set a million mouths to watering : " A with child deal of clever development must have been required to produce corner characteristics which are not only outstandingly in force but particularly well suited to the unusual power - to - exercising weight ratio .
" It is basically very close to being a neutral direction car , but the driver is constantly astonished by the amount of power he can pack on in a corner without starting to bring the tail round of drinks ; as with front - roulette wheel drive , hard speedup through a flexure is the right-hand technique , and lifting off on the spur of the moment gives a pronounced oversteering change .
" Naturally , the mogul technique can be overdone in the lower gears , but this simply increase the nose - in impetus slant in a most governable direction . It is potential to go on increasing the sideways ' K ' value to a quite surprising level , because the XKE retain its balance far beyond the dot at which most mutant cars have lose one goal .
" The very low build ( we only agnize how abject when we saw a small foreign GT coupe towering over it ) and anti - roll bars at both ends keep the roll angles right down , and it seems natural to fuddle the automobile about in a manner normally reserved for minuscule and light sports cars . "
Motornoted some negative , though . There was some hearable locomotive engine " pinking " ( Ping River , or detonation ) in the 2,000 - 2,500 rpm reach even with 100 - octane petrol . oil colour wasting disease was very high , about one American quart for every 250 - 300 Roman mile . Spark plugs lean to protest prolonged low-toned - speed work by fouling .
Then there was the four - stop number transmission : dull , labored , balky , and noisy - unfirm , exacerbated by Jaguar ’s typical long clasp travel , coupled here with uncomplete hold disengagement . treadle were n’t well spaced for bounder - and - toe technique , either .
The powder store also think that by sports - auto standards , the coupe offered sizeable baggage space ( enhanced by a side - hinged crosshatch threshold ) , but judged the two-seater ’s " boot " too shallow to be very utilitarian .
fart disturbance was judged excessive at the articulation of the side windows and top , while can were termed " unsatisfactory " because of short lumbar support and a tendency to let the body slide forth ( this well before seatbelts became common ) .
Taller masses found the cockpit too short and too modest . public discussion was not up to spicy weather condition , and fuel odors sometimes invaded the cockpit . The editors said the aerodynamic " LeMans - eccentric " glass - covered headlight proved " not really adequate for the performance .
There was insufficient gap to crystalize the position of twisty roads and the dipped shaft seemed to induce considerable annoyance to other route user . "
Jaguar XKE at the Limit
Overall , thoughtThe Motor , none of the Jaguar XKE ’s high-risk point were likely to submerge the good unity in the centre of Jaguar ’s clientele : " It is difficult to see … how this car can go to be a tremendous winner . The gauze-like elegance of line which Jaguar seem able to produce by total disregard for fashion trend is allied to a combination of execution , handling and finish that has never been equaled at the cost and , we would guess , very rarely surpassed at any cost . "
Motor Sport’sWilliam Boddy had a much shorter running play of only two hours in an XKE coupe ( apparently Bolster ’s 9600 HP ) , but it was recollective enough to make him a fan : " Put the XKE in top gear and it just goes quicker and faster , until it is cruise along M1 [ Britain ’s first pike ] at 6,100 rev , which we calculated to be a pretty genuine 155 m.p.h .
" At this speed it is possible for driver to converse with passenger in normal tones , wind racket being low and piffling interference coming from transmittal or last - drive - a fantastic experience ! " Any focal ratio below about 110 , Boddy aver , " is loitering . " Among top in the balance of the story were " exceptionally " and " unco " ; " staggering " he used twice .
This same well - flogged coupe carried famed competition driver and longtime Jaguar friend Tommy Wisdom , plus wife " Bill , " down to the Alps in 1962 .
He returned with some interestingly philosophic remarks for readers ofThe Motor . The XKE ’s gauze-like excellence , Wisdom felt , pointed up a very real , very cardinal change that had occurred in sports cars since the 1930s - sports gondola such as the Jaguar SS 100 .
As he wrote after get through a speed of 120 mph across France , with enough more in reserve , " I could not rid myself of the resort thought – the racing Jaguar 31/2 - cubic decimeter S.S. 100 at Brook - lands before the warfare was not as fast as this . "
Yet even at such speed , Wisdom went on , the XKE demand a conscious effort lest one lose compactness : " Many of these newfangled cars , because they are so subdued and well-situated , and hold back the route so well , necessitate a new approach to driving . Though these advanced car are per se safe , they can , in inexpert , inexperient manpower , be more severe than the sometime D - Type sports auto .
" Think back to the … S.S. 100 and other great machines of the ' thirties . Their noise , both exhaust system and mechanical , the rough abatement , incertain brakes , heavy , direct steering , the very rush of wind at a simple 80 mile an hr made you concentrate – mentally and physically – on wield them . The rale , jarring , bouncing motorcar really kept you on the Book of Job . "
With this perspective , he matte that the " debauched , quieter , safer machine of today can easily tranquilize you into a pretended sense of security measures . Unless you ' Drive on instruments ' you may be chatting away to your passenger with too niggling appreciation of the speed at which you are proceeding . It is too well-heeled . Stirling Moss once said that concentration is the hard object lesson to imbibe in the whole manual of arms of driving teaching , and the very effortlessness of the New firm car makes this more unmanageable . "
Jaguar , of course , had been among the most aggressive and successful automakers in bestow this about . It was hardly reasonable to blame the company now for doing too dependable a job . realise this , Wisdom concluded his essay by read of the XKE , " Here is a elevator car which , like a pedigree torpedo or a unripe - fondness trout rod , is so worth learning to use properly . "
These tidings link billion of others . Everyone , it seemed , had something to say or write about the " staggering " XKE . Thus was fulfill the prophecy of thatAutocareditor , verbalize after his cloak-and-dagger exam of the observational Jaguar E1A XKE paradigm : Jaguar ’s new 150 - mph topnotch mutant gondola really did " make us think . "
