The Obtainable XKE - via Hot Wheels!
"It's fast and fine-handling, but also comfortable, with compliant suspension and lot of luggage space; civilized, yet burning bright, like Blake's famous jungle cat. The Jaguar slogan of "Grace, Pace and Space" had it exactly right." - Peter Egan on his beige 1967 Jaguar XKE. From A Jaguar in Moose Country, May 2005, in Side Glances-Road and Track magazine.
I came within a whisker of hitting the Jaguar. Heading west up Catoctin Mountain, I turned to glance at 4 passing motorcycles. When I turned back the Jaguar had stopped and there was no way for the Itty-Fit to stop in time. Fortunately, I swerved to a bit of shoulder and came to a stop beside the Jaguar’s passenger door.
The Jaguar, of course, was an XKE (now called E-Type) – “The most beautiful car ever made.” a quote attributed to Enzo Ferrari at the Jaguar XKE's debut, March 15, 1961. The driver of the XKE, dressed in full 1960s English – seer sucker short sleeve shirt, woolen vest and newsboy hat - glanced to his right but neither acknowledged me, nor gave me the one-finger salute I deserved.
Perhaps he was contemplating a change in underwear as I was contemplating Social Media infamy, “Honda Fit driver slams into vintage E-Type!”
My Itty-Fit was too close to the Jaguar's chrome bumper I was admiring. The sleek bumper stretches from wheel well and splits into two chrome bars above and below the license plate then recombines to stretch to the other wheel well. Beautiful.
As an adolescent, I had come under the spell of the XKE. Stopping in my tracks to admire the English beauty that stood out like 1960'd supermodel Jean Shrimpton among the American Muscle of Mustangs, GTOs, and Corvettes of the 1960s. Like Jean Shrimpton – the XKE was unobtainable.
It is still unobtainable. On Bring-a-Trailer, a Jaguar XKE Series 1 can fetch up to $200,000. Conversely, a 2015 Honda Fit can set you back up to $13,500 on Craigs List.
Is it a brave or foolish act for the English dressed chap to drive an XKE over a mountain? Yes. If I owned the XKE, it would sit in my living room surrounded by a velvet rope and signs that read, “Do Not Enter.”
Such is the nature of beauty - the desire to protect it. But isn’t a car made to be driven? Yes. Is a car utility or art? Yes.
Can a car be both utility and art? Maybe I can find beauty in the Itty-Fit:
Is there beauty in a car that will fit a fully assembled road bicycle inside?
Is there beauty in a car that will fit two 40-gallon trash cans inside?
Is there beauty in a car that gets 50+ miles to a gallon on a morning commute?
Is there beauty in a car that has traveled $170,000+ miles with only oil, battery, tire, and an alternator change?
Is there beauty in a car as ugly as Ford Pinto?
Is there beauty in a car that Consumer Reports calls a Best Value?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
But oh, that Jaguar.
Is there beauty in the sleek curves of a top down 1960s Jaguar XKE being driven over a mountain by an English dressed chap?
Yes. As beautiful as Emmylou Harris singing “Precious Memories”.
Utility vs. Art. Separate and beautiful.
How about you? Where to you find beauty? Share a story.
2nd Helping
