Arguably one of the most recognisable automobile profiles ever created, the Jaguar E-Type celebrates its 60th birthday in April but, amazingly, this iconic car has never had a song written about it – until now, that is.
Johannesburg Jaguar enthusiast and founder member of the Jaguar Club of South africa, Brian Martin, decided to change that piece of history and wrote the lyrics for a song that was then musically worked by Bernie Badria into a good old rock ‘n’ roll tune.
“This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type which was released in April 1961 at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. For some time I had wondered why there was not a song about this fabulous icon of the ’60’s – there seemed to be songs only about American cars such as the Ford Thunderbird.,” says Martin.
“The E-Type has always had a special place in the hearts of Jaguar fans and underwent various revisions and incarnations over the 14 odd years that it was in production, culminating in the Series 3 with a 5,3-litre V12 engine in 1971.
“More than half a century later the E-Type remains highly relevant and sought after. Initially in the 1960’s it had limited racing success mainly due to reliability issues but in the modern era with improved engineering standards and upgrades became highly competitive in historic racing and regularly beats the Ferrari’s and other opposition.
“The Goodwood events in the UK see some spectacular racing each year and the E-Types have excelled at these events. It is a car that defies time and was even described by Enzo Ferrari as the most beautiful car ever made.”
Song lyrics are generally crafted around a tune, but this one went the other way.
“I obviously wanted the song to have a carefree 1960’s feel to it and to convey the thrill of driving. I think that Bernie managed to do this. I suggested to him to work around a Beach Boys type song or an early 1960’s rock ‘n roll theme. After some remixing and remastering I think that the song achieves its purpose.”
Give it a listen:
