Rare 'shark-gill' E-type for sale

By Lizzie Pope

| 20 Aug 2018

Classic & Sports Car – Rare 'shark-gill' E-type for sale

Everyone loves an E-type, right? However, the aesthetics of this particular example might split opinion.

That doesn't make it any less special, though – quite the opposite, in fact!

This 'shark-gill' or 'quad-headlamp' Jaguar E-type coupé, so-called due to its vents and headlights respectively, is one of just three built by Abbey Panels with Jaguar's blessing, and now it's coming to auction with H&H Classics this autumn.

It's being offered with no reserve, but it's estimated that it will sell for £40,000-50,000. Its rarity isn't the only thing that makes it stand out, though.

As well as a famous first owner, it has been campaigned on rallies

A 1966 car, this Jaguar E-type 4.2 quad-headlamp coupé – registration number KBP 559D and chassis number 1E21103 – was supplied new to Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, the sixth Earl of Cawdor.

And there's more. It was inspired by the similarly bespoke fixed-head coupé made for Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin, who was president of the RAC and Ecurie Ecosse at that time.

The sixth Earl of Cawdor was known as a chap who liked living life to the full and had an eccentric dress sense – apparently he'd wear scarlet velvet jackets with black frogging, large buckles on his shoes and belts, and so on.

He also wrote off six E-types in quick succession... Indeed, this example was involved in an accident in 1967.

The headlamps and vents make this model stand out

It remained with the Cawdor family right up until 2003, when it was sold to its current owner, and it has matching chassis and engine numbers.

Since then, it's been the subject of an extensive restoration and has been enjoyed on rallies, too.

"This is an extremely rare version of the classic E-type Jaguar with a fascinating Scottish provenance in good condition," said Roger Nowell of H&H Classics.

"A great car to drive and a superb investment in the very best of British automotive design and engineering. It is history on four wheels.”

This car will be sold in the H&H Classics auction at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, on 17 October.

Do you now have a hankering for an E-type? Take a look at the examples on our classic cars for sale pages