One to Buy: ex-Hans Schenk 1961 Jaguar E-type 3.8 Roadster
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With a D-type-inspired monocoque construction, a lusty 3.8-litre dual overhead camshaft straight six engine and a state-of-the-art air-piercing body, it was no surprise that lots of early customers went racing with their Jaguar E-types.
The E-type offered performance to match a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta or Aston Martin DB4 GT - but at a fraction of the price. Until Ferrari changed the game with the rule-bending 250 GTO (a car that should never have been accepted by the authorities), a well-prepared and well-driven E-type could genuinely compete at the top level of international GT racing as demonstrated on its debut season in 1961.
One of the first customers to run a privateer E-type at international level was Bahamian chef, Hans Schenk, who drove his recently acquired Roadster at the 1961 Bahamas Speed Week. The Cream-coloured Jaguar replaced an Austin-Healey 3000 that Schenk had used at the Speed Week since 1959. The 3000 had in turn been preceded by a Healey 100 that Schenk campaigned in 1957 and ‘58.
Schenk picked up a brace of second places finishes with his E-type in 1961.
Five wins from eight appearances followed during the ‘62 and ‘63 Speed Weeks. For 1964, Hans Schenk moved up to a Shelby Cobra and the Jag was sold to local rival, Tony Adams, who raced it in the Speed Week until 1965.
Today, the ex-Hans Schenk / Tony Adams E-type (fresh from a CKL Developments restoration) is on sale with Duncan Hamilton ROFGO in Micheldever, Hampshire.
