Meet the Fleet – Sportscars: Jaguar E-Type

• BODY: Aurora Model Motoring
• WHEELS: Vincent
• TIRES: Road Race Replicas

Its always seemed strange to me that the Jaguar E-Type is a car that seems not to translate well into miniature. Many different companies have rendered this car in small scale but very few have gotten it right. Matchbox and Solido hit the mark; most other companies that have tried it in 1:87, 1:76 or 1:64 have produced something that seems more like a caricature than a model. In the past I have been critical of the Aurora model of the E-Type, principally due to its strange and completely wrong wheel arches that look nothing like those of the real car; I’ll never understand why Aurora decided to render both this car and the Corvette Stingray in this way; maybe there was a production-related reason for it, but anyone who has an inkling of the real things can look at those bodies and see immediately that they are wrong. Other than the goofy wheel arches, the overall shape isn’t too bad; some details, like the shape of the rear window, are a little off, but with a little modification it becomes a decent model of the real thing.

For the longest time I couldn’t get past those wheel arches, and that’s why I avoided buying this model of one of my favorite cars ever made until it occurred to me that it was worth a shot to try to “fix” what Aurora got wrong. Since I knew there was a chance this “fix” could wind up in the trash bin, I didn’t want to splurge on a pristine one only to wind up destroying it, so I waited until this tan one came up for sale at a good price; no one seems to want the tan Thunderjets, and the back bumper has one of the wraparound extensions broken off, so I got it cheap. When it arrived I put a large round sandpaper attachment I had not previously used on my Dremel and proceeded to…do exactly what I’d hoped: fix it!

OK, I admit it still isn’t quite right; from the rear ¾ it looks more like an Apollo GT/Vetta Ventura than an E-Type, and I’ll also confess that my grinding was not quite as smooth as I would like; I did better on my subsequent modifications but you can see some jagged edges toward the back of both the rear openings. I still think rounding out the wheel arches made it look way better, and this had the equally important bonus of being able to fit it with decent wheels and tires. I was happy enough with the results that I’ve since bought 3 more-at significantly higher prices, mind you-and given the same treatment to all of them.

This particular car is currently wearing a set of Vincent 2-piece gold and chrome wheels to simulate wires; they are not as realistic as the wire wheel design from Road Race Replicas, but since I have those on my other 3 E-Types, I thought it would be good to change it up a little for this one. Its fast too, often making it to the later rounds and sometimes even the final round of my tournaments. Although its still not as accurate a rendering of the real thing as I would like, it would make no sense having a fleet of 1960’s sports cars without one of the titans of the class!

Lastly, about that color: like I said, the tan colored bodies always tend to go for lower prices across the board, and there are some cars I wouldn’t want in this color, but around 1968-’71 the real E-Type was offered in a color called “Ascot Fawn” that was quite close to this. It’s not a “sporty” color, but it does have some class…and class is what a Jaguar is all about!