‘THE BEAST’ FROM UP NORTH

Ex-Malcolm Hamilton Jaguar is ‘The World’s Fastest E-Type’.

The figures alone set the spine tingling and the heart pumping – 750bhp, 0-150mph in c.8 seconds, and a top speed of 184mph. During its 13-year reign over the key circuits of the UK, this ultra-fast cat achieved 52 outright victories and no less than 87 podium places. Its CV includes gargantuan battles with the Aston Martin of Gerry Marshall and Jaguar XJ220 of Win Percy, while at one stage the car held lap records at Brands Hatch, Castle Combe, Mallory Park, Oulton Park, Pembrey, Thruxton and Silverstone.

From the time that Graham Hill drove the Equipe Endeavour E-Type ‘ECD 400’ to victory at Oulton Park in April 1961, the model has been an on-track tour de force, encouraging the creation of evermore way-out versions as time’s gone by. What is now the Griffths car, aka ‘The Beast’, was the brainchild of Modsport competitor Fred Cliffe, who built and raced the much-modified Series 3 E-Type from 1977 to 1982, over which period it boasted c.580bhp courtesy of one of the V12 engines from the Broadspeed XJC racing project. It was in 1986 that Malcolm Hamilton’s former company, Kearns Richards, acquired the car for Hamilton to race, and presented their talented engineer Rob Beere with the task of turning it into an outright winner. So began one of the more colourful chapters in E-Type racing history.

Its first season in new ownership was celebrated with competition number 88, which signified the year in question, but also the fact the team reckoned it was ‘twice as good’ as the well-known Group 44 V12 E-Type of Bob Tullius! It was certainly mighty effective out of the box, scoring seven outright wins, four second places and a third in the popular Intermarque series, where Jaguar’s teamed up to compete against equivalent line-ups of Aston Martins, Porsches, Ferraris and ACs. By the second year Rob had established his own company, Rob Beere Racing, and Malcolm had purchased the car from Kearns Richards. Now a well-oiled equipe, the talented pairing then ran and developed the car over the ensuing 12 years, during which time the engine was assembled in no less than 20 different configurations and varied in capacity from 5.9 to 9.0 litres. When Roger Mac tested ‘The Beast’ for Jaguar World in 1990, he declared it to be ‘The Quickest Jaguar this side of Tom Walkinshaw’s Group C car’. Some seasons were inevitably more successful than others, but the E-Type was always competitive, and sometimes won by an embarrassing margin.

However, nothing lasts for ever, and the car’s remarkable run of success was finally halted at Malcolm Hamilton’s home circuit of Oulton Park in 2001, when it was assaulted from behind in no uncertain terms by a member of the rival Porsche pack. Having always operated on a tight budget, the team lacked the funds for what were clearly going to be very costly repairs and had no option but to retire ‘The Beast’ from active service. Seven years later it was purchased by renowned Modsport enthusiast Peter Griffiths, who set about restoring the Jaguar to its former glory. By now it had been pretty much reduced to boxes of parts and the rebuild was always going to be a challenge – there are no workshop manuals for 100 percent bespoke race cars! Nevertheless, rebuild it he did, redesigning the rear end and updating the specification to current Motorsport UK regulations along the way.

In essence it is a 1971 V-12 E-Type centre tub sporting what’s tantamount to a TWR Group C specification engine and running gear. In detail:

Engine

7.3-litre V12 E-Type unit developing c.750bhp and 680 lb ft of torque and installed 6in lower and further back than in the standard car. Compression ratio – 13:1. Carburation – 6 x twin-choke IDF downdraught Webers

Transmission

Bespoke Hewland dog box, lightweight flywheel and triple plate clutch

Suspension

Bespoke Rob Beere Racing wishbones and anti-rollbars, Penske springs and dampers, Jaguar XJ220 Le Mans wheels shod with Dunlop tyres

Brakes

15in AP Racing discs all-round – 6-pot calipers front, 4-pot calipers rear

Bodywork

Mix of aluminium, fibreglass and carbonfibre. Front air dam – plywood with titanium skids. Rear wing – carbonfibre ex-Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9

Weight

1275kg

Please note this vehicle comes with the following spares;

2 x large body moulds for the front and rear of the car.

7 x spare wheels and tyres

2 x quick lift jacks and handle

Slave starting battery

Various aluminium panels to clad the underneath of the car.

20+ boxes of various mechanical spares, including..

Various gear box spares, ratios etc.

Spare springs

Hydraulic jack system ( once used on the car for quick pit stops), since removed because of extra weight involved.

Various boxes of gaskets, seals, rose joints etc.

Various nuts/bolts/fasteners etc

Various electrical spares

All damaged panels from the accident have been kept including one damaged alloy wheel.