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The Jaguar "E" type (also known as E-type or XK-E) is one of the greatest cars ever built. It has style, performance, and pedigree: its shell was designed by an aerodynamics engineer, it was propelled by a high-spec version of the famous XK engine, and was based on the 50's Le Mans winning D type race car. Best of all, unlike other 'supercars' of its time, it was a mass-market product: over 70.000 have been built.

Among the most glamorous symbols of Britain in the 1960s, the E-Type was conceived by Sir William Lyons, Jaguar's chairman, as a cheaper version of luxury Ferrari and Aston Martin sports cars. Working with the aerodynamicist designer Malcolm Sayer and chief design engineer William Heynes, Lyons oversaw each stage of the development of the E-Type as he did for every new Jaguar.

The E-type's voluptuous shape was influenced by the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante - nicknamed the 'Flying Saucer' - and by Sayer's experience in the aircraft industry. Believing that aerodynamic efficiency was of the utmost importance in design, Sayer based his work on mathematical principles and employed techniques he had used at the Bristol Aeroplane Company, such as wind tunnel and smoke tests.

Having developed the D-type racing car for Jaguar in the 1950s, Sayer refined it into the E-type. With the promise of a top speed of 150mph, the E-Type was priced at £2,097 for a roadster - half as much as an Aston Martin. Jaguar manufactured 72,500 models between 1961 and 1974. Sayer's celebrated curves, and the innovative XK engine developed by William Heynes, have influenced car design ever since.