Jaguar E 1969 Series 2 Seen at Automobile Musem in Turin, Italy

Seen at Museo dell' Automobile, Torino.

The Jaguar E-Type or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market is a British sports car, which was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the marque as an icon of 1960s motoring.

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The Series 2 introduced a number of design changes, largely due to U.S. design legislation. The most distinctive exterior feature is the absence of the glass headlight covers. 

Other hallmarks of Series 2 cars are a wrap-around rear bumper, re-positioned and larger front indicators and tail lights below the bumpers, an enlarged "mouth" which aided cooling but detracted for the Series I design purity, twin electric fans, plastic rocker switches in place of the Series I toggle switches, and, of course most importantly, a material downgrading in performance resulting from a switch from the three SU carburetors used in Series I models to a mere two "smogged" Stromberg carbs, reducing horsepower from 265 to 246 and reducing torque from 283 to 263.

A combination steering lock and ignition key was fitted to the steering column, which replaced the dash board mounted ignition switch and charismatic push button starter. A new steering column was fitted with a collapsible section in the event of an accident.

New seats were fitted which allowed the fitment of head restraints, as required by U.S. law beginning in 1969. The interior and dashboard were also redesigned; rocker switches that met US health and safety regulations were substituted for toggle switches. The dashboard switches also lost their symmetrical layout.

At a time when most cars had drum brakes, live rear axles, and mediocre performance, the E-Type sprang on the scene with 150 mph and a sub-7 second 0-60 time, monocoque construction, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, independent front and rear suspension, and unrivaled looks. In fact, the E-Type was based on Jaguar's own famed racer, the Type D, which had won the world's most prestigious sports-car race three consecutive years (1955-1957) and, as such, it was the first production vehicle not to use a separate body bolted onto a chassis, instead employing the racing design of a body tub attached to a tubular framework, with the engine bolted directly to the framework.