Sunday, June 12, 2022

Automotif CCCIX...


A very late Series 1...or possibly a "Series 1½"...Jaguar E-type, trailed by an XJ saloon in matching livery. (It's important to use terms like "saloon" and "livery" when discussing such well-pedigreed automobiles.)


It's the missing covers for the headlights that tell us it's not an earlier Series 1. The taillights above the rear bumper, among other cues, tell us it's not a Series 2. The differences between the very late Series 1 and the Series 1½ are largely mechanical, related to the first round of emissions controls applied to cars sold in the US starting with the 1968 model year.

Actually, now that I look at it, it has hexagonal wheel nuts rather than winged knock-offs, which makes me think it's a '68 Series 1½... (Winged knockoff hubs were a no-no starting in '68 according to the FMVSS.)

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