Unused Jaguar E-type found in a barn after 40 years expected to sell for $70k

A 1965 Jaguar E-type 3.8-litre Coupé discovered in a barn as part of a deceased estate is being auctioned next week and is expected to sell for between £35,000 ($60,699) and £45,000 ($69,371).

One of only 1798 of this type made, it is complete and original but requires extensive recommissioning due to the ravages of time, although it appears to have been kept dry.

The late owner bought it in 1970 for his wife and it has lain unused since the middle of that decade.

The car is offered with its original handbook, warranty card and service book containing eight entries up to the 20,000-mile service in November 1965 at 20,207 miles and also five old MoT certificates, the last dated 1974 at 50,000 miles. The odometer now displays a credible 52,738 miles, although it's believed that the engine hasn't run for at least 15 years.

The 1964 Jaguar E-Type.

Finished in red, with a light grey leather interior, the car has had only three registered keepers, all in the Staffordshire area.

It was apparently supplied new by Byatts of Fenton (then the Jaguar dealer for the Stoke-On-Trent area) to F Fradley Ltd of Hanley, Staffs, since when it has had just two private keepers - the second being the deceased husband of the vendor, who bought it for his wife in 1970. At the time they were also Staffordshire-based, but moved to Cheshire in the late Seventies; so it's fair to surmise that most of the E-type's miles have been accrued in and around the Staffordshire area.

The car retains its original Staffordshire registration of PRF 935B.

Damian Jones of H&H Classics, which is selling the car at Imperial War Museum Duxford on October 12, said: "Considering the perennial popularity of the E-type, it's extraordinary how many have been confined to barns over the years and are only now resurfacing to the delight of new would-be owners.

"PRF 935B is a delightfully unmolested late 3.8-litre coupé that's just been exposed to the full light of day for the first time in about 40 years."

The H&H Classics sale at the Imperial War Museum Duxford on October 12 also features a 1959 Jaguar XK150 SE 3.4 Litre Drophead Coupé, estimated at £135,000-£165,000.

With matching chassis and engine numbers, it has covered less than 200 miles since a meticulous restoration. Total right-hand-drive XK150 Drophead Coupé production is thought to have amounted to just 663 cars (for both 3.4-litre and later 3.8-litre variants).

The 1964 Jaguar E-Type.