This week, in a blatant attempt at generating a little more enthusiasm than the previous week, we will look at polarizing and controversial designs – and there are plenty of those in the vastness of the automotive landscape. We shall begin with a sleek, sculptural and sporty Jaguar that was turned into a clown car. And then painted Pacman yellow and shod with whitewalls. Is nothing sacred?
Remember the old joke about the Buddhist ordering a hot dog? “Make me one with everything.” This is kind of what we have in this instance: this poor E-Type was sadly born a bit too late, when headlight covers went away and the taillamps became huge – and tucked under the bumper.
It was sadly ordered in North America, hence the tacked-on reflectors on all four corners. And the less said about that hypertrophied greenhouse the better. The body colour and the tyres could be changed, of course. And one prays they will be. But even if that were the case, this would still be a pretty pitiful Jag. A mistake, a faux-pas, an E-Typo.
To be fair, it’s not all bad. You still have to give that dash with that amazing chorus line of rocker switches its due respect. Automatic gearbox, eh? That fits this car well, most definitely.
To think they went through all that trouble, raising the roof and stretching the wheelbase, adding this, that and the other beyond what nature intended and good taste allowed, all to be able to offer a miserable little excuse for a back seat, chiefly to be populated by double amputees, young children or the occasional contortionist.
The 2+2 was late to the party, only showing its ugly self to the world in 1966, just as the Series 1 was on its way out. Despite the looks, it appears quite a few folks who would have bought the standard coupé were swayed by the Quasimoddish version’s extra hump space.
The market spoke, and it said: “Sure, we’ll take the bulbous body. Not much of a difference performance-wise, and at least we’ll have somewhere for the poodles to sit when going down to Harvey Nicks for a bottle of bubbly.” The market, as usual, was shallow and self-centered.
The added layer of yellow bile afforded by this example is perfect, then. For after the ignominy of the Series 2 came the outright cataclysmic Series 3, with its superfluous V12 protected by an orthodentically-challenged eggcrate grille. The 2+2 supplanted the standard coupé for good, as one might have expected.
The roadster remained aloof and was always the most popular of all variants, though by the Series 3, the difference in terms of sales were minimal. The end was cruel for the E-Type.
I don’t want anybody to get the wrong impression from this (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) little post: I love and admire the Jaguar E-Type. But even A-list stars can end up playing lead in a complete bomb of a film. If they had Razzie Awards for cars, this 2+2 E-Type should at least be nominated.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1964 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 – After 58 Years And 200,000 Miles Its Owner Is Still Driving It To The Store, by Jon Stephenson
Curbside Classic: Jaguar XK-E Series II: The Stuff Of Dreams, The Source Of Nightmares, by David Skinner
Curbside Classic: c. 1965 Series I Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Roadster – Things Or Travel?, by Joseph Dennis
CC Capsule: 1968 Jaguar E-Type – The Pride Of An Ethos, by Aaron65
CC Capsule: 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 (Series III) Roadster – Respect, But With Reservations, by T87
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Series II – “Sooo Beautiful”, by PN
CC Cinema: Bud Lindemann Reviews a 1968 Jaguar XK-E Coupe, by PN
Big Head Todd in STARE AT ME Monster clothing.
Love that back seat!
What were they thinking?
Oh dear. I actually appreciate the series 2 2+2, because for a while I was considering buying one. It was the only e-type I could realistically afford, manual gearbox conversions were available and the view was the same from the driver’s seat.
However prices continued to rise and I spent too much time looking at the restoration blog of Classic Jaguar in Austin TX. The cost, complexity and talent for rusting put me off the e-type for good.
This car would look very handsome in a dark color like British Racing Green, and with blackwall tires. Get thee to a paint shop!!!
Not trying to be a contrarian, but I like this car. The shape, the tires, the color. It’s obviously much-loved, too. There’s no accounting for taste.
A truly horrible example of a car that had lost it’s way. When I was growing up these were driven by second hand car dealers, cigar smokers with big gold jewellery. Rust was generally just starting to take a hold and they left a hint of oil smoke and unburnt leaded fuel as they passed.
Not just an automatic, but a really poor implementation, not even the design used in the XJ6!
surely there have to be Autobody workers with skills to chop down the roof on these. and considering that Beach Boys sang of XKEs, there has to be some love still present in ‘Murica to bring this down to a sleeker roof profile, still keeping the the rear door operational. same goes for the (un)covered headlights. 3-d printing or appropriate plastic moldings must be in the realm of possibility to return the faired in (LED replacement, angel eyes?) look to the headlamps.
“It was sadly ordered in North America”
Those seven little words go a long way towards explaining things. 🙂 Perhaps they should have just gone full shooting brake, then the roof would have worked better (or maybe it would have still had a whiff of popemobile about it), but at least different enough to not suffer in comparison.
Seeing the tail end makes me wonder if the little Union Jack is the exact same piece fitted to the front fenders of US market Rover 3500 in 1980-81.
Like many designs, the E Type was improved to the point of ruin, as it progressed to it’s final years. The long wheelbase of the 2+2 allowed the auto box to be fitted, the roof was unfortunately raised to accommodate rear seating. What many don’t know is that by the end of it’s run, the E Type was becoming unpopular and sales were down. The factory stored hundreds of unsold cars at an airfield.
I had a first gen Datsun Z 2+2, and I think that that conversion was handled much more elegantly. Make too many “improvements” to a horse, and you can end up with a camel!
This ungainly looking thing looks like a life size scale model made by Palmer-a model company NOT known for making authentic or realistic looking model car kits. Ask any serious car model builder.
Great analogy!
Much like the 280ZX 2+2, and the vestigial seats in many sports cars, this probably exists for insurance reasons. I don’t know if it still holds true, but in this era, 2-seat cars were very expensive to insure. Add a tiny back seat for significant insurance savings.
I’ve driven a lot of cars, on the roads not as a valet.
A type III V12 auto roadster to me is too similar to a Gen IV Camaro convert to be a coincidence.
Likewise an XKS coupe = a smogged out late 70’s Gen 2 Camaro.
This is what I think.
And the wheels, if they have bolts, all interchange, too
Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho, Those White Wall Tires Have Got To Go!
I Can’t Hear You!
Say It Again!
Ad infinitum
Thank goodness that Jaguar didn’t meet the same fate as the one from the movie Harold & Maude. https://imcdb.org/vehicle_6262-Jaguar-XK-E-Hearse-1967.html
By the way, in the French movie “Le Petit Baigneur” (1968) starring the late French actor Louis De Funès shown how he stretched a Jaguar E.
I have always loved every E type — from a distance. (My Saabs and their tragic gearboxes were quite enough.) So, I can forgive the 2+2 lumpiness. But the yellow — that yellow! — no, thank you. And the whitewallls don’t help.
This color works on an air-cooled 911, or a first-gen Camaro. Or a Corvair! I might feel more forgiving if I saw this car in person, because, well, it’s an E Type.
Always the contrarian, I rather like that colour. Not the whitewalls though, but that’s easily fixed.
Unfortunately the bright paint tends to accentuate just how disproportionate that roof is, like a bubble that’s near to bursting. And all for naught, with so little room in the rear. The original coupe is a lovely design, not a line out of place. On this one, the lines are all over the place.
On the whole, I’ll pass.