Is stretching an E-Type altering an icon?

A CLASSIC car specialist in Shropshire is about to do what some enthusiasts would call the unthinkable by stretching a Jaguar E-Type.

Classic Motor Cars Limited, based in Bridgnorth, said it is about to start work on a project which effectively involves making a 1968 4.2 litre Series 1 Roadster, but while it involves altering one of the best known sports car shapes of all time the company say they are keen to keep the preserve the E-Type's essence while making it roomier and easier to live with.

Nick Goldthorp, the company's managing director, said: "This is something that we have never been done before. Our client wanted the interior leg room of a Series 3 V12 E-Type but the aesthetics of a Series 1 car.

"We are going to add four and a half inches to the floor pan, which will give the leg room of the V12 plus an additional one inch if required. The V12 was actually nine inches longer than a Series I but a lot of the additional room was behind the seats as storage and is not required on our project. By adding four and a half inches to the length of the car we will be able to retain the overall look of the Series 1 and also turn this E-Type into a unique car."

The project involves not only stretching the left-hand-drive car by four and a half inches, but also fitting the Sixties sports car with modern technology, including air conditioning, power steering, upgraded brakes, a new five speed gearbox, better suspension and handling upgrades among other additions.

Paul Branstad, the American client who owns the car, said: "The stretched E-Type I have conceived sits between the Series 1 and the subsequent vehicles produced after the merger and formation of British Leyland, when the design of the cars underwent several transformations as a consequence of cuts in production costs and the need for more space that resulted in the Series II 2+2 and Series III V12."

While classic car purists would argue against altering aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer's original vision for the E-Type's shape, the sketch included here, Life On Cars reckons, is sympathetic to the Jag's original styling, and could actually provide the tempting prospect of the earlier E-Types's looks with the creature comforts of the later V12 cars.

The stretched E-Type is expected to be completed in September next year.

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Summer is here...

....after what feels like an eternity of showers, grey skies and drizzle. Naturally, with this being Britain the best way to measure this meteorological high is from the number of convertibles out on our roads at the moment.

Regular readers will probably already know I like to fly the ragtop flag whenever the sun comes down, regardless of the time of year, but the combination of proper sunshine, warm weather and the uniquely British need to 'get the old girl' out of the garage means more and more of my fellow motorists, I've noticed, are getting the roof down.

Obviously there's the inevitable stream of BMW-era MINIs, new Beetles, Vauxhall Tigras and - dare I say it - Mazda MX-5s now on the roads in al fresco mode, but far more refreshing are the rarer beasts which have emerged from automotive hibernation in the past week or two. Stuff like MGBs, Lotus Elans, Merc SLs of the slimline Sixties vintage, Triumph Spitifires, TVR Griffiths and Chimaeras, and, if you're among the more minted petrolhead variety, Aston DB7 Volantes.

But I just had to share a picture of what I reckon is probably the coolest convertible effort I've seen so far lately - an E-Type V12 roadster parked up roof down, on a busy Saturday morning on Lord Street, Southport's busiest thoroughfare. While I usually prefer my E-Types to come in the sleeker, straight six powered variety, it would take someone with a heart of stone to say this car doesn't cut the mustard. It's just got a certain rightness about it.

Then again, you don't have to be an automotive twitcher to take in all these gorgeous old convertibles - a lot of them will be at the Woodvale Rally next weekend. Can't wait!

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