Antique & Classic Cars Blog

Every gearhead gets this question. Usual answer is a verbal sidestep. “There’s so many great cars….” or “Do you have a favorite child?” Of course there’s a lot of great cars. If there was only one, it wouldn’t be a hobby. It’d just be a thing everyone agreed was cool, like Google Earth.

I usually give a sidestep, but not today. Today is commitment day. Commit to a favorite classic. I’ll say a Series 1 Jaguar E-type. Roadster. (Though coupes are amazing too.) If I could have any car, today, that’s what I’d take.

“But wouldn’t you rather have a 427 Cobra?”

Not today. Besides, Cobra aficionados often say the 427s are so brutish that the 289s are more fun.

“Or how about a Duesenberg. A Duesie, man, come on. Everybody wants one. No car was ever built better than a Duesenberg.”

Maybe so, but today, no.

“Ferrari Daytona Spyder? Whaddya say? Vee-twelve, long nose, Ferrari growl…”

Yeah and a white suit and sunglasses too. Some other time. Today it’s an E-type. If you don’t live in an E-type museum (XKE for the US market, I guess), you can’t see one on the road and not stare. You can’t see one in a parking lot and not veer over and have a look. The Series 1 is the purest look, to this fan. Cowled headlights a must. Maybe black or grey with red leather interior.

Lotsa cars go fast. Lots look good. Yet an E-type…. No car has ever been more attractive. On par? Maybe, that’s why most people can’t chose. A Miura is a pretty sexy looking car. There were some great looking Ferraris in the ’60s too. ’Vettes? Heck, yeah. Just about any Vette from ’53 through ’72 is welcome in this enthusiast’s garage. These cars look good, they sound good, they go fast.

But today, they’re not better than an E-type. An off-the-showroom-floor car that looks that killer, does 150 miles per hour, boasts wood dash, leather seats, beautiful round-face gauges, wire wheels, bevy of Bond-looking toggle switches…. It’s the one, the bomb, the sensation, the missing link between art and automobile.

So if I could have any car, it would be an E Jag. Today, anyway.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 9:44 am and is filed under Car parts, Car stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.