One of Britain’s most iconic cars could sell for a whopping £100,000 at auction after it was found in dreadful condition – having spent 30 years parked under a HEDGE.
The 1963 Jaguar E-Type – which was voted the Most Beautiful Car of all time in 2008 – comes with all of its original documents, including its last MOT certificate from 1968 – despite not being able to run.
Now, the red car could reach upwards of £100,000 at auction, despite spending 30 years rusting away under a hedge in Bisley, Surrey.
The car was first owned by a man called Ivor Arbiter (corr), who was credited with creating The Beatles’s iconic ‘drop T’ logo.
Ivor was at the centre of London’s music scene in the 1960s and was asked by the band’s then-manager Brian Epstein to design a logo to fit on the band’s bass drum – he was paid £5 for the design, which was hand-painted by a local sign-writer.
The car also features in a number of classic films including, Vanishing Point, Austin Powers and the original Casino Royale.
Valuer James Good, from the COYS auction house, said: “It is ideal for restoration and is extremely rare.
“It has a great history, including racing, which collectors love.”
He added that the fact that it was owned by the Beatles’s logo designer was “not insignificant”.
The car changed hands a couple of times between 1965 and 1967, before it ended up in the hands of racing enthusiast Frank Riches.
After racing the car around Brand’s Hatch and Blackbushe in the late 1960s, Frank burnt out the car’s clutch.
But rather than getting red e-type repaired, Frank kept it in storage.
Then in the eighties it was transferred to his garden, where it remained beneath a tarpaulin until 2015 – underneath a giant hedge that had grown around it.
Despite being more than 50 years old, the red Jag has fewer than 45,000 miles on the clock.
James said: “This wonderful Series 1, 3.8 E-Type is in original condition, with matching numbers and has never been restored.
“It retains all the features it carried in 1969 and is possibly one of the most original examples remaining today.
“The car needs a total restoration but it has all the ingredients to make a superb car – this is a true rarity.”
The car comes with its original brown log book, V5 and V5C, its last MOT certificate dated November 1968, the sales invoice to Frank Riches for £855 along with the Heritage Certificate confirming all the important details.
It also has its original maintenance and service handbook, service manual and spare parts catalogue and the original jack.
It will go on sale at the COYS Spring Classics auction at the Royal Horticultural Society in London on March 8.
Given the rarity of these cars in original condition, it is difficult to say exactly how much this E-Type will fetch.
However an E-Type in similar condition fetched £100,000 at auction in 2013.
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