This E-type with harlequin paint and a checkered past is worth a small fortune
A 1964 Series 1 Jaguar E-type that was wrecked in a race and has never been repaired could fetch as much as $200,000 at auction in the U.K.
The 4.2-liter Jag was built in December 1964 but came to a halt against the crash barriers of a race circuit just three months later with only 2805 miles on the clock. Its owner was a notorious Yorkshire playboy named Tom Casson of Barkisland Hall, whose driving skills were no match for his bank balance.
In 1940, Casson was banned from driving for 10 years and jailed for 18 months after killing a cyclist early one morning. Casson, who was 21 at the time, claims he fell asleep at the wheel after a party and did not stop at the scene of the accident. Instead he drove home and quickly arranged for his car to be repaired. It was not his first offence. In fact, Casson had already been in court no less than seven times for dangerous driving.
The judge in the case summed up, “Your record as a motorist is shocking. You are one of those who bring scandal on the name of motorists, breaking every rule. I would add that you are not fit to drive a car in your present state of mind, perhaps in 10 years time you may be different.”
Some 24 years later Casson purchased his E-type but clearly hadn’t lost his need for speed or gained any talent for driving. He crashed the car heavily at Snetterton race circuit in Norfolk, causing substantial damage to the left side.
Casson never had the car repaired and in 1966 it passed to a new owner, who kept it for 40 years until his death. In all that time the car still never turned a wheel, although it did receive a new floor pan, door, rear wing, sills, and a replacement hood.
Today the Jag is patchwork of colors in addition to its original, and much-faded, Opalescent Maroon. The interior is mostly complete, but it is in a terrible condition, while the canvas roof appears to have disintegrated. The engine was barely run-in yet is mostly likely completely seized up.
Nonetheless, because of its incredibly low mileage, this E-type is expected to command an extremely high price when it heads to auction on March 27 at Silverstone Auctions. It last sold for £116,600 ($160,000) in 2016, but the buyer didn’t attempt a restoration.
The car could be worth as much as $293,000 if it is ever returned to as-new condition, but will anyone invest the time and money or will this fascinating wreck just keep changing hands in its current sorry state?
