UNIQUE Jaguar E-Type Series III ‘HIDDEN’ by Pete Waterman for 30 years up for auction

A unique 1971 Jaguar E-Type Series III 2+2 with the 4.2 XK engine has surfaced from the collection of Pete Waterman after 30 years – and is up for auction.

Rarities in the classic car world can often fetch silly prices, and this 1971 Jaguar E-Type Series III – up for auction by H&H Classics in November – is not only incredibly rare, it’s been ‘lost’ for 30 years.

This E-Type 2+2 Coupe – chassis # 1W70001 – was built to homologate the 4.2 litre XK engine for North America, and is the only Series III E-Type with that engine.

Owned and run by the family of Jaguar’s then US President – Graham W. Whitehead – it eventually went through a number of owners in the US before ‘ disappearing’ from view in the late 1980s.

Now, it transpires, it was bought by Pete Waterman – Jaguar lover and steam engine nut with a rather profitable sideline in the music business to fund his passions – who has had it in his private collection ever since.

Arguably the rarest E-Type there is – it’s been called the ‘Ghost’ E-Type – Pete Waterman’s car is the very first LHD E-Type Series III produced – and the only one with the 4.2 litre engine – has covered 53,000 miles and, despite a bit of a titivate in recent years, remains remarkably original and with a number of unique features in addition to that engine.

The 1971 Jaguar E-Type Series III 2+2 Coupe will go under the hammer at H&H Classics auction at Duxford on 15 November 2017.

And there’s no reserve.