Smile of the Day Wednesday March 23, 2022: The Jaguar

On this Day:

March 23, 1945, The Swallow Sidecar Company headed by William Lyons agrees to change its name to Jaguar, setting in motion the creation of the association of James Bond, 007 and the Jaguar. But it seems there is one slight problem. Like other movie myths, while Bond, James Bond, is identified with the E-Type Jaguar, it seems he, ahem, never really drove one…

The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. It’s combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the model as an icon of the motoring world. The E-Type’s claimed 150 mph (241 km/h) top speed, sub-7-second 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration, unitary construction, disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and independent front and rear suspension distinguished the car and spurred industry-wide changes. The E-Type was based on Jaguar’s D-Type racing car, which had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for three consecutive years beginning in 1955, and employed what was, for the early 1960s, a novel racing design principle, with a front subframe carrying the engine, front suspension and front bodywork bolted directly to the body tub. No ladder frame chassis, as was common at the time, was needed and as such the first cars weighed only 1315 kg (2900 lb).

It is rumored that, on its release on 15 March 1961 Enzo Ferrari called it “the most beautiful car ever made”, but this statement is not fully confirmed. In 2004, Sports Car International magazine placed the E-Type at number one on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. In March 2008, the Jaguar E-Type ranked first in The Daily Telegraph online list of the world’s “100 most beautiful cars” of all time. Outside automotive circles, the E-type has featured in the Diabolik comic series, Austin Powers films and the television series Mad Men.

Getting back to James Bond, there are plenty of Jaguars appearing in his films. According to (https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Jaguar_E-Type):

“The Jaguar E-Type was a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. The Series 1 model first appeared (albeit briefly) in the carpark of Shrublands during the 1965 James Bond film, Thunderball, and was later used two years later in a chase sequence in the unofficial parody film, Casino Royale. It subsequently appeared in Jeffery Deaver’s 2011 James Bond continuation novel, Carte Blanche. In Deaver’s continuity, James Bond inherited his father’s 1960s racing-green E-type Jaguar.”

Austin Powers, however, did in fact drive an E-Type.

“The Austin Powers 1970 Jaguar E-Type – fondly referred to in the 1997 film ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’, was known as the “Shaguar”:

There is a Jaguar in “No Time to Die” but alas, it is the Jaguar XF and is driven by the henchmen out to get James (per Wikipedia). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_XF_(X260))

First, a Story:

James Bond finds himself in a cave, faced by a lion, a bear and a jaguar, with a gun and only one bullet. What does he do?

He shoots the lion, drinks the beer and drives away in the jaguar… James knows that Bear Beer is from Denmark…

Second, a Song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywD9d5wWiuM)

Thought for the Day:

“Oh, tell me it’s an E-type. That’s the sexiest car in the history of motoring.” ― Ophelia Maidenstone.

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Have a great day!

Dave & Colleen

© 2022 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky