09-24-2010, 08:23 AM
davester wrote:
[quote=Thrift Store Scott]
Purely driving-wise it was okay... not wonderful, not awful, just okay. It was fast but not that fast; it handled well but not that well.
Not THAT fast? the 6 to 7 second 0-60 times and 150 mph top speed were phenomenal for that time, on par with a number of Ferraris for a fraction of the cost. The handling and brakes were also worlds above everything else on the road that cost anywhere close to (and quite a bit more than) the E-Type. The E-Type was developed directly from Jaguar's racing program, with near race car performance all around.
That said, a modern BMW M3 would out-accelerate and out-handle it, especially if the E-Type was limited to period tires. However, there was virtually nothing even remotely affordable on the road for long after the E-Type ceased production that could hold a candle to it. Perhaps your example wasn't in as great a shape as you thought it was. The car was in exceptional shape, but it just wasn't particularly faith-inspiring to me as far as going fast went. Some cars, both old and new, say "C'mon, gimme a little more gas, let's run and play" the instant they start rolling, but that E-Type never said anything of the sort to me while I was driving it. While I'm aware of the documented very high performance limits of E-Types, I will say that in my limited experience it's not a car that openly invites one to explore those limits during one's first time behind the wheel. I might have come away with a quite different impression if it had been a coupe and not a convertible with the top down when I drove it, or if I had been accustomed to driving a car with unassisted (and very heavy) steering and God's own ultra-stiff throttle return spring, but I kind of doubt it.
And that's why for many years I stopped even mentioning that I got to drive an E-Type: Everyone expects it to have been a near-orgasmic experience that made me mad with desire to own one, and my rather lukewarm impressions of the car and the event never fail to disappoint and even occasionally infuriate whatever audience hears them.
