One to Buy: ex-Tommy Atkins 1963 Jaguar E-type 3.8 Lightweight
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Although it went up against the rule-bending Ferrari 250 GTO which was scandalously accepted into the Group 3 Grand Touring class, Jaguar’s E-type Lightweight gave a very good account of itself at both national and international level.
This car, chassis S850661 – currently residing at the DK Engineering showroom in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, is the fourth of the twelve Lightweights, all of which were supplied to independent teams and drivers.
Supplied new to Tommy Atkins’ High Efficiency Motors and registered 86 PJ, chassis S850661 was campaigned exclusively by Roy Salvadori during the 1963 season. Salvadori bagged a second, three thirds and a fifth from five big race outings with his best finish coming at the Silverstone International Trophy.
Salvadori went on to race chassis S850661 just once in 1964, after which Tommy Atkins decided to part ways with the car; selling it to Jac Mac Motors.
Roger Mac, son of the owner, subsequently had great success at the wheel of 86 PJ throughout the remainder of the 1964 season, winning outright on eight occasions. The E-type was then listed for sale at ‘£3500 or nearest offer’ in 1965.
After passing through the hands of Peter Mould and John Harper, chassis S850661 was acquired by renowned motor sport photographer, Guy Griffiths. Griffiths part-exchanged an XK150 as part of the deal and retained the Lightweight E-type for over 40 years.
According to DK Engineering: “Having been purchased by life-long enthusiast, Paul Michaels, the next stage of the car’s life would be centred around protecting its remarkable originality. In 2004, Michaels entrusted world-renowned marque specialists Eagle with the task of preservation.
The intention was not to create a show-car, but return it to a state in which it appeared most authentic. With fond boyhood memories of seeing Salvadori compete in the car at Goodwood, Michaels chose to return ‘86 PJ’ to light metallic green, having arrived at Eagle in Griffiths’ favoured hue of Old English White.
Upon removal of the hardtop, the team at Eagle soon found clear traces of metallic green. Always learning; they also suspected that the car had originally been supplied to Atkins in bare aluminium. Despite being driven 2,600 miles in competition, the car only experienced the lightest of knocks, and such was the nature of its subsequent care, the body and mechanicals were found to be in exceptional condition.
Awash with an air of authenticity impossible to replicate, the car’s stunning leather interior was ‘painstakingly’ removed and cleaned, before being returned and left in situ. Once more, despite being a competition E-type, roll protection had never been fitted, thus adding to the allure of the car’s remarkable originality.
Following completion, ‘86 PJ’ was reunited with Michaels in time for an appearance at the 2005 Goodwood Festival of Speed to be driven by Michaels’ long-term friend and ex-Jaguar works driver, John Watson.
Sold by DK Engineering to its current custodian in 2020, this remarkable E-type has since been shown at the Heveningham Concours and at the 2025 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where it notably recieved the Schedoni Award for Best Preserved Interior.”
For more information visit the DK Engineering website at: https://www.dkeng.co.uk/
