Jaguar XK-E 1970: Favorite car advertisement | Drive every day

Selling the greatest sports cars of all time…by price.

Look at your back. This may seem absurd, but clearly the marketing people at Jaguar once felt the need to directly compare the brand's legendary E-Type sports car with other vehicles. The E-Type, also known as the XK-E in North American markets, is often considered one of the most beautiful mass-produced cars ever built, as shown disturbingly in the chart below . The XK-E may be the most popular vehicle ever launched in the UK, but in this ad the car is treated as a commodity, no different from a lawnmower or a can of tuna.

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Jaguar XK-E 1970

That said, the cars the Jaguar is compared to in this 1970 print ad are also quite special, but they are also very different from the Jag. The Mercedes is by no means a sports car and is also very expensive. The Porsche was a car in its own right, at a time when its rear-engined design was still a handling red flag at best for serious drivers — and crazy ones.

The end of the Jaguar

As for Maserati, the Ghibli is truly a large grand tourer, powered by a large V8 engine and about 600-700 pounds heavier than the Jaguar.

Strange comparison cars aside, it's worth pointing out that the Jaguar is cheaper than the other cars included in the comparison. Jaguar is really selling the great XK-E at a bargain price. What the hell?

Of course, it's possible that the marketing people at Jaguar chose this group of comparison cars because they're too expensive. For example, the electric 911 was listed for a staggering $8,700 in 1970, while the XK-E was priced at just $5,500. That's $68,000 and $43,000, respectively, in 2024 dollars. That's for the Jaguar coupe, by the way, a convertible that was a bit more expensive then and is worth a lot more now.

While Jaguar today is a popular vehicle and the brand is on the brink of failure, the Jaguar of the late 60s was something else entirely. Erudite owners with expensive stereos and tweed jackets drove their mighty Jags on long weekend trips with beautiful women by their sides. That's Jaguar – a brand with a history of race wins, technical sophistication and glorious sheet metal.

This ad probably isn't the beginning of the end, but it could be. It's a mistake for Jaguar to sell its best car ever with the indifference of a door-to-door drummer on duty.

And if this ad is the beginning of the end, it's for the brand, not the car. Although Jaguar itself is no longer front and center in any luxury shopper's mind, for many enthusiasts the XK-E remains the greatest sports car ever built. As it should be.

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Jaguar XK-E 1970 showroom

(Click below to see enlarged image)