Would you pay £44,000 for this ruined Jaguar E-Type?

Just when you thought that every single barn in Europe was empty, yet another timeless classic has emerged from between the hay bales.

And, it must be said, that this particular shed-borne refugee has all the hallmarks of your classic barn find – a beautiful, painfully rare car, forgotten for decades and presented in a condition that’s only slightly rougher than 20-grit sandpaper. 

But how did it come to this?

The story goes that in 1962, a man from Birmingham bought his very own Series 1 E-Type coupe. He loved it every day for 35 years, using it as a daily driver, before selling it on to another man from the Midlands, who promptly put it in a shed.  

Apparently, the new owner’s plan was to restore the running, if careworn E-Type, but then decided that abandoning it in his barn for two decades was a far better use of his time. To be fair, he moved to the north of England and left it in the care of his brother.

The E started off in ‘dark opalescent’ blue with a black interior, but time and tide wait for no man, as they say. At some point, both red and white paint has found its way on to its body panels, too. And, it seems, so has a lot of dust and rust. 

There’s no mention of the condition of the 3.8-litre straight six, but we hear that a small concern by the name of Eagle can help you out if you’re looking to restore it. The original brakes are still attached, as is the original steering wheel and dashboard. And the rest? Well, that’s a joyous voyage of discovery for whoever stumps up the winning bid, isn’t it?

But the fact is that, underneath the dust and detritus, in among the rust and rat droppings, there’s actually a very lovely car waiting to come out. We’re just wondering how many thousands of pounds (on top of the £44,000 estimate for the car itself) that it’ll take to unearth it.

Of course, when restored, it’ll be worth umpteen thousand pounds but, if you’ll forgive us waxing lyrical for a moment, this is the kind of car that deserves to be restored and preserved. It’s a high-water mark for human endeavour and a perfect counterpoint to the humdrum mundanity that tends to take up so much of modern life. 

And, if you’re a fan of dramatic irony (and who isn’t?), you’ll love this – it’s being auctioned at the ‘Practical Classics’ Show in Birmingham.