New Arrival: 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3

A new arrival this morning to the Bridge Classic Cars workshops. Working in conjunction with our good friend Lee at Autoshack. The 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 you see below belongs to a customer of Lee’s having very recently been purchased from the The Classic Sale at Silverstone 2022 hosted by Silverstone Auctions.

The description reads as follows:

A decade after the original Jaguar E-Type arrived, the design progressively matured through 1971 with the introduction of the Series 3.  Designed to showcase the new smooth and torquey 5.3-litre engine, originally developed for Le Mans, the Series 3 cars were available as a Roadster or a 2+2 Coupé. The Series 3 is easily identifiable by its large cross-slatted front grille, flared wheel arches, wider tyres, a larger bonnet bulge, updated bumpers, four exhaust tips, and a badge on the rear that proclaims it to be a V12. It also featured uprated brakes, power steering as standard and a large horizontal scoop added to the underside of the bonnet to assist with cooling. The interior was entirely new in the V12, with more comfortable seating, stylish new door panels and a smaller, dished and leather-rimmed steering wheel. Being slightly larger and altogether much softer in nature, the E-Type in Series 3 form had lost the wildness of its youth but gained the long-legged touring profile to which it was arguably better suited.

The United States was always the target market for the E-Type and the model evolved over a decade to cater for the needs of the American driver, a fact that has always been downplayed this side of the pond. The ‘Jagwar’ has always been held in high regard by the American enthusiast-driver that considered the homegrown muscle cars as too blue-collar and the precocious exotica of Italy as too expensive. The Series 3 had now evolved into a sports coupé that offered a smooth automatic gearbox and rear seats. The iconic lines of the early car is still unashamedly British but capable of outperforming bloated V8 rivals with its smooth V12. According to the Heritage Certificate, this Coupé, with automatic gearbox and air conditioning, was dispatched to British Leyland, New York on 10th April 1972 in Primrose Yellow with a Cinnamon interior. Our vendor informs us it was owned by one family from new in Louisiana, and it was imported to the UK and registered on the 1st December 2019.

Buying the car on the 1st December 2021 with the intention of reliving his E-Type owning youth as a racing engineer with the Le Mans winning Group 44 Race Team, our vendor’s ill-health sees the car regretfully offered to auction. The odometer reading of 23,393 miles, at the time of cataloguing is assumed to be genuine, although not warranted, whilst our vendor asserts that the family ownership prior to the 2019 registration in the UK is certainly persuasive. The colour was changed during restoration whilst the delightfully original Cinnamon leather shows lovely patina. Recently a new braking system was fitted to the front and new pads fitted to the rear. Our vendor, having worked on Jaguar V12 racing engines changed the oil himself, and the car will have a fresh MOT for the sale. The history file contains receipts, Heritage Certificate, importation documentation, handbook and V5C.

Residing overseas, the customer would like the car fully assessed and for a full service to be carried out. There also seems to be some issues with the cooling system and air conditioning which we would also like to look at.

Keep up to date with our progress as we get the car prepared and ready for it’s trip back home to Europe.