A chance sighting in in an uninspiring location leads to an epiphany.

The Jaguar E-Type (or XK-E in the States) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year. Jaguar are obviously kicking the PR machine into overdrive in order to celebrate this milestone with an E-Type set to form part of the centre sculpture at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. In addition, both the Silverstone Classic and Goodwood Revival will stage dedicated E-Type races. For the Geneva show (where the E-Type was first unveiled) Jaguar organised a special tour from Coventry to Geneva will a number of cars representing the complete spectrum of the E-Types models.

In the UK at least, the E-Type has long been considered one of the icons of motoring. When it was launched, it stunned the motoring world with its gorgeous looks and alleged 150mph performance, which had previously only been the preserve of the most exotic Ferraris and Maseratis. The most shocking thing, though, was the price; at a little more than half that of an Aston DB4, it was a huge bargain.

Not surprisingly the E-Type epitomised Sixties cool and flew out of the showrooms as fast as Jaguar could make them. Inevitably, as many icons do, it grew fatter and developed an addiction (to petrol, in this case - the series 3 V12 models loved a drink). Even with this middle-aged spread, sales remained strong. Jaguar produced a huge 72,000 examples by the time production finished in 1975.

Since then, the E-Type has become one on the default cars in many peoples' fantasy garage, and usually makes the top three of those top 100 most beautiful/sexy/cool (delete as applicable) car lists that motoring and lifestyle magazines run from time to time.

However, until a few years ago I had always struggled to see the appeal. Styling-wise, the arches always seem to swamp the wheels and the windscreen stood too vertically. The proportions always seemed to look all wrong, especially in the 2 + 2 coupe versions which several of my school friends' fathers bought in the late Eighties, hoping to cash in on the classic car boom of the time without really knowing what they were buying.

My apathy towards the E-Type was not helped by the heavily-tweaked examples (notably the one owned by F1 designer Adrian Newey pictured below) that have done so well in the Goodwood Revival TT celebration race over the last ten years, in spite of the fact the E-Type had a fairly unsuccessful career at top level GT racing when it was new.

My views changed a couple of years ago, though, and in a surprising location. Stepping out of my office building in that monument to business that is the Slough Trading Estate, my eyes set upon a red E-Type 2-seater coupe. It was not the finest example on the road; the paint was a little oxidised from the sun and the interior showed an awful lot of patina and other evidence that this big cat was in fairly regular use. As a so-called series 1 ½ it sported open headlights but retained the taillights above the rear bumpers of the earlier models. The 1 ½ is perhaps not the most beautiful E-Type model but by no means the least desirable either. In amongst the sea of silver and black metallic Audi A4s and BMW 3-Series that dominate the car parks of the trading estate, this slightly down-at-heel E-Type looked stunning, and seriously cool. Then and there I saw the light, and I wanted it.

Probably the most appealing thing about this car was that it posed the possibility of being a classic that could be used on regular basis. In the current classic car market, the E-Type has returned to the same position it held when new: it's something of a bargain. An E-Type can be picked up for well under £50,000, and the best standard examples are likely to be around £100,000. This compares very favourably with the prices being asked for Sixties Astons and Ferrari Berlinettas.

One area where the E-Type scores is that there are a number of companies that are set up to not just restore but also update the cars to make them more suitable for modern driving. Adding better brakes, 5-speed transmissions and much-needed improvements to the cooling system doesn't detract from the feel of the original, but opens up the possibility of having an 'everyday' classic car. Yes, you could do the same thing with a classic Ferrari (and a couple of Daytonas and 365GTC/4s have been modified as such) but it's a far more expensive process and the end result is a car that's probably more difficult to sell on than an unmodified example.

These updated E-Types are not cheap, with the likes of Eaqle and Beacham charging over £100,000 for their updated cars, but they are a considerably more stylish alternative to an Aston DB9 or Bentley Continental GT.

Returning to the anniversary, this must also pose something of a dilemma for Jaguar's management. Ever since the last black Anniversary Edition E-Type convertible rolled off the production line in 1975, enthusiasts, journalists and pretty much everyone else has been clamouring for a true replacement. The XJ-S that followed the E-Type was a great grand tourer but it didn't look as good as the E-Type. The more recent XKs are closer in spirit to the E-Type, but even the XKR is more of a GT than a sports car.

Rumours of the so-called F-Type have been around ever since 1975, and the closest seems to be the stillborn F from the early Nineties which eventually morphed into the Aston Martin DB7. More recently, Jaguar's new owners have indicated that a new, smaller sports car will join the range, probably to be badged as the XE. I'm sure there will be some temptation to price this car as a competitor to the Porsche 911, but I hope that Jaguar pitches this car in the same segment as the Cayman and BMW M3 instead. This should help give the XE a more youthful appeal, something the current Jaguar range desperately needs.

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