The most British segment of the car market, when we had a meaningful place in it, was the sports car. And while MG made some fine contributions to the class, Aston had its moments, and the TR6 was hunkily attractive, the zenith for the breed was surely the E-Type Jaguar.
Launched commercially in 1961 the car was the four-wheel symbol of the sixties , an instant piece of style in many movies and TV series – most famously in The Italian Job where it was pushed over a precipice, signalling war between the British and Italian gangsters. It was put down in the 1970s, the era that gave us the bloody awful TR7.
When Enzo Ferrari called it the most beautiful car ever made he was surely referring to a roadster in silver or red, maybe navy blue, though no petrol-head would kick any version out of bed. It even features in Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art. But there is a gulf between art and functionality, and the engineering did not, could not match the looks. But would you swop a technically superior in every way Lexus for an E-Type? Like a shot. And not just because a good one is worth a king’s ransom now. It’s because the E-Type is Twiggy , George Best , The Beatles , the entire England World Cup Squad of 1966 (sorry other components of these islands), and a good steakhouse where nobody knows what coulis is. It has British soul, and remains an institution.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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