JAGUAR RACING CARS A MONTHLY SERIES
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JAGUAR RACING CARS
A MONTHLY SERIES - Part 8
By Neville Barlow
E-Type racing in New Zealand
E Types recorded a number of successes, notably with the help of people like Sybil Lupp
and her garage in Wellington. They were o en seen out in sprints, flying miles and hill
climbs. A number of these were simply brought off the showroom floor and raced next
day.
Sco% Wiseman was born in
England. He spent his early days
as a works driver for Jaguar.
When he came to New Zealand
he brought his E Type Jaguar
which he had raced in England.
He said that in 23 starts in
Produc-on Sports Car Races he
achieved 8 wins, 6 seconds and 6
thirds. His car was a lightweight
model to which he fi%ed an
aerofoil in 1968. This was a Sco Wisemans’ E-Type Jaguar
unique modifica-on. With his
style of driving his big red car garnered much public interest. He held records at
Pukekohe, Bay Park, Levin and Ruapuna. A er blowing an engine he decided motor
racing was becoming an expensive hobby. Mike Hourigan bought the Wiseman E Type
for $5000 in May 1978. He worked for Archer and Lupp Services in February as their
Service Manager. A er repairing the engine, he set a lap record at Mansfield on the
28th October 1978 of 1 minute 29.1 seconds and lowered it again in January 1979. In
1984 he sold the car to Ray Larsen who is a well- known Jaguar racer in Christchurch.
The car was rebuilt and he raced it in historic events. At the age of 80 I believe Ray will
be displaying this vehicle along with several of his XK120’s in a new Motor Museum in
Rangiora.
Sprints and Hill Climbs seemed to be where most E Types were found. In 1963, B
Crosbie was fastest at the South Island Hill Climb in his 3.8 litre E Type. Des Rouse,
Peter Lawson and Gary Bremner raced with success in the Wellington and Carterton
area in 1965, 66, and 67. Grant Bloore was at Taupo in 1967 and E Sprague won a flying
and a standing sprint at Timaru. In 1971 D. Peddie had a 1st and a 2nd at Teretonga.
Other names such as B. Reid and B. Middlemass had E Types out on the track. Danie
Lupp owned a Series 3 E Type and used it for Hill Climbs and Sprints.
27
It was also seen in the late
80’s at Manfield, Pukekohe
and Bay Park.
One of our very early
members, Harvey Kingston
(he was also a member of the
Taranaki Jaguar Drivers Club)
purchased a series 1 3.8 litre E
Type in 1962. I first met
Harvey when our club visited
New Plymouth in 2012. He
had a great Knowledge of
Jerry Staces’ Jaguar E-Type Jaguars as he charged around
Taranaki in the mid 1950’s in
his XK 120. He and Jill loved
their E Type. On occasions he took part in sprint events, once recording 124 mph. He
did a%end one of our AGMs and Award evenings, but passed away several years ago.
It was thought some of these cars were re- commissioned as road cars and are now
much prized in the Jaguar community.
E-Type racing in America
In America, Merle Brennan’s racing E Type produced a fillip to all Jaguar car sales in the
USA, from 1964 to 1967. It won 39 out of 42 Sports Car Club of America produc-on
races. With this in mind, Bob
Tullius persuaded Bri-sh Leyland
that racing a Jaguar V12 could do
the same. So a joint company
was formed between Tullius,
based in Virginia and HuKaker
Engineering of San Rafael in
California, who raced Brennan’s
car. A joint company was
formed on their respec-ve
coasts. Using data from
Coventry, these cars needed
only 6 months to achieve
winning form and won the SCCA
Championship. They were o en
Merle Brennans’’ Jaguar E-Type
followed home by a 10-year-old
E Type 4.2 litre, driven by Ed Bighouse.
Touted as the most winning Jaguar of all -me was ‘Ole 19’. This was converted to a
race car in 1970.
29
Built by Lou Fidanza and now named Gran Turismo, Jaguar which won many races up to and including the SCCA Championship. This 15-year-old E Type was driven by expatriate Englishman, Freddy Bankier and saw victory in the C 1977 Jaguar E-Type Ole 19 Produc-on Na-onal final at Road America, including 5 lead up races in 1980. The car raced successfully up un-l 1982, winning at Mid-Ohio by bea-ng 11 Corve%es and Porsches. This car originally was a standard 4.2 litre roadster. In 1977 it was modified with ven-lated disc brakes, a sleek new aerodynamic fibreglass body and a wider front track and sway bars. The twin overhead camsha engine produced 363Bhp and had a top speed of 180 mph now that it weighed only a li%le over 1000kgs. In 1981 Gran Turismo won 10 races in a row at Nelson Lodger, breaking the lap record many -mes. It concluded its race record winning 22 out of 25 of its last races. I cannot find an accurate total of all its wins but I expect that it could be near 50. This car was loved by the crowds because they felt they were seeing a David performance by it against the Goliaths that could not catch it. Steven Ward wrote a very informa-ve account of this car in our September 2017 Jaguar Drivers Magazine. Jaguar Chairman, John Egan, presented Freddy Baker with the “Jaguar Driver of the year” Trophy. In Australia Bob Jane won the 1963 Australian GT Championship with his Lightweight E Type. Of the 10 races he finished he was placed another 5 -mes. This car was sold at the Sco%sdale Auc-on in the USA for $US7,370,000 on 19th January 2017. The World’s Fastest E Type In August 1964 Sybil Lupp took her modified E Type up to Ohakea airport to do some speed tests. Top speed registered was, with the wind 170 mph. against the wind 160 mph. 0 to 50mph in 4 seconds 0 to 100mph, in 12 seconds. This car had D Type cams, a gas flowed head by Westlake’s and had other modifica-ons. Anyone who doubted an E Type could do 150 mph should have talked to Sybil! History has it that this car had a very dis-nc-ve exhaust note and Sybil would streak out on the Hu% Motorway on quiet nights. It appears the local Traffic Officers had a great deal of respect for Sybil, so when they heard her blas-ng along they le her alone. Every year she received a Christmas card from the local cops. A book has recently come on the market claiming ‘The World’s Fastest E Type.’ The story began in 2005 when the owner Phil Shephard made the trip from Perth to Lake Gairdner to take part in Speed Week on the dry salt lake bed. Problems occurred in 2005 and 2007 but by persis-ng, the car in 2015 reached 170.068 mph (273.697kph). 30
Is this the fastest E Type?
Many of us have visited Greg
Beachams’ establishment
outside of Has-ngs. This man
has a long history of restoring
Jaguars. Even as a medical
student he became very
interested in the cars known for
their Grace, Space and Pace.
One of Beachams’ crea-ons, an
E Type, appeared at a
Phil Shepherds’ Jaguar E-Type Goodwood mee-ng in 2017, up
for auc-on.
It was a 1972 E Type
which was restored in
2013. This car had been
fi%ed with a Jaguar 4.2
litre V8 that had been
supercharged. It is said
to produce 600bhp and
has a top speed of
185mph and 0 to 100ks
in 4 seconds. It has
been described as
des-ned for the classic
Beachams’ Jaguar E-Type
enthusiast who requires
reliability along with modern technology and all the mod cons plus the serious fun
factor. It was sold for well over $300,000. Could this be called the fastest E Type?
In a 1971 E Type called the ‘Beast’, which was massively ‘modified’ (it hardly looked like
one) was driven by Malcolm Hamilton from 1988 to 2001. Specifica-ons were, a V12
7.3 litre Jaguar engine rated at 750bhp
and torque of 680 lbs. As it weighted
only 1275kgs it could certainly fly. It
was wri%en up in “The Jaguar
Enthusiasts” magazine as the fastest E
Type in the world. During its racing
career it posted 52 1sts, 24 2nds and 11
3rds. The technical specifica-ons of the
car are really a TWR group C Le Mans in
an E Type shell. These cars were
reaching 400kph down the Muslane
700 BHP Modsport Jaguar E-Type straight at Le Man (248 mph)!!!
31
I would believe that this is the World’s Fastest E Type. Many E Type owners throughout the world echo the Frenchman Dr Renault’s words that he wishes he could purchase a new up to date E Type. He said “For me, the perfect car would be a new short wheel base coupe, with fuel injec-on, synchromesh gearbox and with wide wheels and looking like a series 3 E Type.” His cars are a 2 plus 2, an early roadster and a 4.2 litre coupe. He was able to spirit away a Lightweight E Type that had crashed at Montlehery in 1966. The crumpled remains were impounded at the Paris track for 11 years un-l the good Doctor delivered it to John Hope of Forward Engineering to have it rebuilt. He now, I hope, has at last the car of his dreams. Maybe the ul-mate car the good Doctor was looking for is now available. There are a number of companies in England doing individual upgrades. They go from replacing a few parts to comprehensive and expensive complete rebuilds, u-lizing the latest technology. One of these companies produces ‘The Eagle E Type’. They tailor each car to suit the client, making them the best driving cars on the road today. Mar-n Brundle has driven Jaguar race cars since 1983. Before that he was runner up to Aryton Senna in Formula 3. He was also Tom Walkinshaw’s main driver of the Silk Cut Jaguars in the Le Mans years of the mid 1980’s. He commissioned Eagle to produce for him the ul-mate driving E Type. They sourced a 1965 4.2 litre E Type which they took completely apart. The new build included air condi-oning, a gas flowed engine cylinder head, special pistons, a baffled oil sump and a specially tuned exhaust system. The suspension was given special a%en-on and modernized where it was deemed necessary. The engine was rated at 330bhp. The interior was remodeled and the body had a mul- layered paint job. These one-off cars can cost any amount of money, €200,000, being quite common. We have in our club, an E Type expert, Michael Creak, who has over the years upgraded his E type. This is the car he purchased at the age of 17. I would say that this could very well be a world record for ownership of a Jaguar E Type. The E Type has its 60th Birthday in this the year of 2021. It is unlikely we shall ever see again a car so down-right exci-ng and sexy as the E Type. The -me was right for it and it became quite simply the most famous sports car in the world. It fully deserves this epitaph. Neville 32
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