This 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series III Roadster sold new at Valley Imports in Neenah, Wisconsin, was a one-owner car until 2018. Showing a believed-correct 43,043 original miles, it is offered with an extensive service and maintenance history. The Series III E-Type was the first in the line’s history to use the turbine-smooth V-12 engine introduced in 1971. The V-12 had its roots in an early design produced in 1954 that was intended to power the company’s Le Mans racers, but when Jaguar dropped out of racing after the 1956 season the project was shelved. In 1963, Jaguar purchased Coventry Climax, whose technical team included original XK engine designers Walter Hassan and William Haynes. Development of the V-12 concept then resumed, with the focus once again on producing a racing powerplant, specifically a 5.0L unit with dual overhead cams, dry-sump lubrication, Lucas mechanical fuel injection and a factory rating of 502 HP at 7,600 RPM and 386 lb-ft of torque at 6,300 RPM. Fortune intervened once again when the Jaguar XJ13 Le Mans prototype serving as the V-12’s test bed crashed heavily in testing, eventuating the entire project’s demise. The project produced substantial lessons, however, that led to the design of the Series III E-Type’s V-12, the development of which was aimed at maintaining the E-Type’s performance in the face of increasingly rigid emissions standards. The final design incorporated flat-top combustion chambers, two valves per cylinder and single overhead cams, all in service to minimizing complexity, weight, size and noise. This 1974 Series III Roadster retains its original 5.3L V-12 and 4-speed manual transmission, just two of many fine attributes that include its lovely pairing of Green Sand paint and Olive leather interior. Equipped with chromed wire wheels, Smiths instruments and factory air conditioning, this Series III shows evidence of careful, ongoing maintenance in both its clean presentation and extensive service documentation that includes the original purchase agreement.
