9600 HP - The Story of the World's Oldest E-type Jaguar

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From development prototype to Geneva Motor Show star and 150mph road-test car, 9600 HP played a key role in the launch of the sensational Jaguar E-type. This latest book tells the story of this unique car’s life, its intricate restoration, and the unsung hero behind its creation – Malcolm Sayer.

First published in 2000 and extensively expanded and updated for this new edition, it includes interviews with many of the characters who were central to the car’s adventures. It also features a wealth of exclusive archive material from the family of Malcolm Sayer – the man who created some of Jaguar’s most iconic designs.

9600 HP is the only remaining prototype and is the oldest surviving Jaguar E-type. In 1961, it served as a press car and was driven flat-out across France to be in Geneva in time for the E-type’s official launch. Subsequently owned by the likes of racing driver Jack Fairman, 9600 HP was acquired by Philip Porter in 1977 and kept in a barn until 1999, when a deal was done that would lead to its emotional return to the road.

Key content

• How ‘prototype number 7’ played a central role in the development of the Jaguar E-type and the model’s 1961 Geneva launch.
• The full story of 9600 HP’s famous 150mph road-test by Autocar magazine.
• Fascinating insight into 9600 HP’s post-Jaguar life, including its ownership by film director John Paddy Carstairs and racing driver Jack Fairman.
• Detailed account of the car’s painstaking restoration, its triumphant return to Geneva in 2000, and its busy life since.
• Extensive celebration of Malcolm Sayer and his enduring legacy, using never previously published drawings, sketches and photographs from the Sayer family.

Collector’s Edition

Reflecting the enduring style of the car, the Collector’s Edition of 9600 HP is hand-bound in grey leather. The cover features a stylishly foiled, debossed graphic of the car with its famous number plate in white on black leather; the overall look set off by silver-edged pages. Limited to just 96, each copy comes in a slip case and is signed by author and owner of 9600, HP Philip Porter, and by Jaguar’s former Director of Design, Ian Callum CBE.

Title Information

The author

Philip Porter is the author of more than 30 motoring books. He started competing in hill climbs and sprints while still at school and was later bitten by the classic car bug. He has written motor racing books with Sir Stirling Moss, Murray Walker and Martin Brundle. In 2005, he created Porter Press International, which is now one of the world’s leading motoring publishers.