The story of a unique car: the world’s oldest Jaguar E-Type victim of Mr. Bean on Netflix

Even Enzo Ferrari himself fell at his feet and called it “the most beautiful car ever designed”: since its launch, more than 60 years ago, the Jaguar type E It is a magnet that catches all glances and praise wherever it goes. And history repeats itself in the new series of Netflix where he appears represented, perhaps, by his most special specimen and none other than Rowan Atkinson (famous for his role as Mr. Bean) behind the wheel.

The series in question is “Man against Ape”a production of the streaming platform that consists of nine chapters and tells the story of Trevor (Atkinson), a man who starts working as a keeper of villas and at his first experience must wage a tireless fight against a bee, putting in danger his clumsiness the integrity of the house and its most precious objects, including a Jaguar type E.

Having a copy of this car is already a luxury reserved for very few, but this one in particular doubles the bet: the one they used for the shooting is a pre-series prototype that was produced in 1960, a year before the world debut of the Jaguar E. -Type, March 15, 1961 at the Geneva Motor Show.

With gray bodywork and patented 9600hp, this is the car that traveled at full speed from the Coventry plant in England to Geneva through France to arrive on time for the official presentation of the E-Type at the Parc des Eaux Vives. To do this, the driver and then head of public relations of the brand, Bob Berry, relied on the high performance of his XK engine, with which it can exceed 240 kilometers per hour.

The car, a living legend, the last prototype still in operation, belongs today to the writer and brand enthusiast Philip Porter, who happily lent it for the series and also had the pleasure of visiting the set on the last day of shooting. . He bought it in 1977 from pilot Jack Fairman, but then kept it in a barn until 1999, when he was able to start the restoration and put it back on the road.

Porter was told that it was Atkinson himself who asked the production of this particular car to be part of the plot. And it was not a casual decision: Atkinson, on the contrary, is an enthusiast and a great connoisseur of sports cars, classic or modern, and in his collection he has jewels such as Aston Martin DB2 and a V8 Vantage Zagato, a Rolls-Royce Ghost, a Lancia Delta Integrale and another Jaguar, the Mark VII, among others.

But his love affair with the E-Type is special and reached its peak in 2008, when he stepped into a 1961 to compete in the fourth edition of the traditional Le Mans Classic. “They’re pretty cramped and claustrophobic to race, but they’re nice cars,” he recently said of that experience.

In order not to risk the integrity of such a historic piece in the somewhat neglected adventures of Trevor and the bee: the original car is the one that appears in the quieter scenes, while for those with action and vertigo the company CKL Developments, specialist in the classics of Jaguar and Lotus, among others, he prepared a replica of the original model, a very faithful copy that Atkinson, by the way, ended up keeping as a souvenir.

Jaguar E-Type, an all-time classic

Also known as the Jaguar XK-E, this jewel of the automotive world was marketed between 1961 and 1975, first with an inline six-cylinder XK engine that ranged in volume between 3.8 and 4.2 liters, but still delivered 265. CV, and later, from the 1971 renewal, with a 5.3 liter V12 and 276 CV.

In addition to the coupe version that is part of “Man vs. Abeja ”and a 2 + 2 coupe that came to light later, the E-Type was initially also launched in a roadster version, considered a masterpiece so perfect that it even had a permanent space in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. .

It is that in addition to its power and aerodynamics, and as Enzo Ferrari made clear when seeing it for the first time, it is an icon for its aesthetics: the silhouette designed by Malcolm Sayer immediately became an all-time classic,

In this sense, Jaguar gave the note in 2017 by presenting the Concept Zero, a specimen that is a pure re-edition of the E-Type from an aesthetic point of view, but with an electric motor under the hood that delivers 300 hp, it has an autonomy of 270 kilometers and accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.5 seconds, something like 1.5 seconds faster than the original. It is the one worn a year later by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at their wedding.

With all this experience behind it, in 2021 the brand launched a limited edition to celebrate the 60 years of the original, now respecting all the possible mechanical specifications of those presented in 1961 in Geneva, while adding some improvements, such as a manual box. five-speed – the original was four – improved cooling and an infotainment system with Bluetooth connection and satellite navigation.

But of course, once again, it was not an idea designed for everyone: 12 examples were proposed, one half with coupé bodywork and the other in its cabriolet version, and with the particularity of being sold only in pairs, that is, let’s say that six buyers took one of each.

The finishing touch was this summer, the brand invited these customers and their companions to relive the journey from Coventry to Geneva aboard its new classics, enjoying unique landscapes and an experience that is both elegant and mystical.

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Source: Clarin

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