E Type Jaguar – Salon International d’Automobile, Genève 1961

Artist: Charles Avalon

Under wraps: Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961, Jaguar’s E-Type caused a sensation. Capable of achieving 150mph, but costing a fraction of the price of rivals with similar performance, it set new standards in automotive design and performance. Sleek and low-slung, the E-Type became the first large-scale production car based on aircraft design principles. It is a piece of British design history and became a potent symbol of the excitement and optimism of the swinging Sixties. Its beauty is such that it has transcended the automotive world; such is the inherent rightness of its proportions, stance and purity of line, that an E-Type is now a permanent exhibit in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.