► Jag E-type is this month’s personal icon
► Tom Mould tells us about his passion
► Series 3 has doubled in price in three years
> ‘My father was in the motor trade and he always had Jaguars. I guess I inherited the Jag gene, because I have been driving them since I was a teenager. My first Jaguar was a 1973 Series 2 XJ, which I bought in 1981 when I was 24 for £750. Since then I have had Jaguars of all shapes and sizes. I currently own a 1972 Series 3 E-type, a 2001 XKR convertible, and a 2006 X-type Estate. I like my Jaguars…’
> ‘When I was 15 years old the Series 3 E-type was launched, and I just knew I had to have one. Look, I know that the Series 1 and 2 are the models everyone drools over and the ones people pay silly money for but, when I was 15, they had been knocking around for a while and I thought they looked a bit tired and old fogey-ish. The Series 3, to my eyes, was chunky and handsome. And it had a dirty great V12 engine under the bonnet. It was the one for me. It would take me a while to own one, but it was worth the wait.’
> ‘In 2012 the market was bottoming out and I decided it was a good time to start looking seriously for a tidy Series 3 fixed-head coupe. I spent six months trawling the internet and looking through auction catalogues before I finally found what I was looking for. I paid £17.5k for my pale primrose yellow E-type – the top of my budget – and I’ve spent a lot of time fettling and refurbishing it. I’d never thought I’d drive a yellow car – black or BRG were top of the list – but it’s a colour of its time.’
> ‘I drive it most summer weekends. It has lots of grunt, it pulls hard and it feels pretty bloody fast. In an E-type everybody is pleased to see you – drivers let you in at junctions, and pedestrians wave and smile. I live near Goodwood and we’re spoiled for great roads and events on my doorstep. It’s doubled in value over the last three years but I won’t sell the E-type – it’s a keeper.’