Unlike many sports cars of its era, the Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupé combined breathtaking styling with genuine practicality. Its elegant fastback profile incorporated a generous hatch-style luggage area, improving usability while subtly enhancing its already exceptional aerodynamics. The flowing roofline gave the design a strong sense of cohesion, and company founder Sir William Lyons himself is said to have maintained a preference for the closed E-Type.

Completed on 15 March 1962, chassis number 860294 is a matching-numbers, right-hand-drive, home-market example finished in its striking factory colours of Opalescent Dark Blue with Grey interior trim. The car was dispatched by Henlys Limited of London to its first owner, A P Burt & Sons Ltd of Bristol, only weeks after it was completed. It has remained in continuous British ownership ever since, passing through a series of well-regarded E-Type enthusiasts, including a former Chairman of the Jaguar Drivers’ Club.

The car underwent a comprehensive, multi-year restoration by a band of British specialist workshops, which was completed in 2013. The process was then continued by its subsequent caretaker, who further refined the restoration in pursuit of a “factory-fresh” specification as the car would have left Browns Lane. This continued attention to detail included obtaining and installing factory-correct items such as Cheney-brand hose clips, blue Girling shock absorbers, knurled screws securing the radio console, and even a date-code-correct Lucas HA12 ignition coil. A substantial archive of photographs and invoices documents the work’s meticulous nature. Beyond its restoration records, chassis 860294 is also supplied with its owner’s handbook, period logbook with stamped service and mileage records, warranty documentation, and MoT certificates dating to 1971.

Combining outstanding provenance, matching-numbers components, and a desirable specification, this sensational E-Type Fixed Head Coupé is a standout example of what is widely seen as the purest expression of one of the most beautiful cars ever made.