March 15, 1961. A misty morning in Geneva. One sleek Jaguar E-Type coupé – registration 9600 HP – rolls up to the Parc des Eaux Vives with just 20 minutes to spare after a flat-out, fog-delayed overnight dash from Coventry.
Sir William Lyons, the man who built Jaguar, stands beside the open door, hands in pockets, as journalists swarm. ‘Good God, Berry, I thought you were never going to get here!’ he quips to his PR man, while the car gets a frantic wipe-down.
That moment? Pure automotive history, the 1961 Geneva Motor Show.
The E-Type didn’t just launch – it exploded onto the scene. 150mph claimed top speed, revolutionary disc brakes all-round, Malcolm Sayer’s breathtaking curves and a price that undercut every exotic rival.
Orders flooded in faster than Jaguar could build them (they planned for 250; the show alone brought 500+).
Even Enzo Ferrari reportedly called it ‘the most beautiful car ever made.’
This black-and-white photo captures the exact instant the world fell in love. The crowd, the pines, the poised founder, the revolutionary machine with its door flung open like it’s saying, ‘Come drive me.’
From that day forward, the E-Type wasn’t just a car. It was a cultural icon – the shape that defined cool in the Swinging Sixties, the dream machine for rock stars, racers, and dreamers alike.
65+ years later, it still stops hearts and turns heads. Timeless. Unmatched. Utterly British.  
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