- Story by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton

From West Shore Life + Style

It takes a specific combination of factors to create the perfect drive. When you香蕉视频直播檙e driving a 1961 Series 1 Jaguar E-Type roadster, the hills shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be too steep, the curves should be many and the traffic should be fast and light.

David Moisik is fortunate enough to have just such roads only a few minutes from his Colwood home.

香蕉视频直播淢etchosin香蕉视频直播檚 Kangaroo Road is one of these roads that is constantly curving and has just the right combination of turns and hills that makes driving the E-Type roadster so much fun with the top down. You can smell the forest and feel the wind blow through your hair,香蕉视频直播� David says. 香蕉视频直播淗ighways aren香蕉视频直播檛 necessarily a lot of fun in a car like this. When you香蕉视频直播檙e in an open car, you don香蕉视频直播檛 really want to be flying down the highway with enormous semis that you can practically drive under on both sides.香蕉视频直播�

Drives like Kangaroo Road and East Sooke Road are the kind of places one is likely to come across fellow Jaguar enthusiasts out for a 香蕉视频直播淪unday prowl香蕉视频直播� through West Shore communities and beyond. David says it香蕉视频直播檚 coastal roads like this that explains why many classic car aficionados decide to settle in southern Vancouver Island.

香蕉视频直播淲e call this area classic car heaven because of the roads and the weather,香蕉视频直播� he says.

Though he香蕉视频直播檚 been enjoying the rewards of life in classic car heaven for a few years, David香蕉视频直播檚 relationship with his E-Type Jag began four decades ago and 2,000 kilometres to the east in Regina, Saskatchewan, where the young architect spotted a used model at a local detailing shop in the late 香蕉视频直播�70s. David had become infatuated with this type of car years earlier at age nine, when he spotted a sparkling new 1961 model in the Regina Jaguar showroom.

香蕉视频直播淚t was love at first sight,香蕉视频直播� he recalls. 香蕉视频直播淚t was a magnificent yellow roadster and the salesman made it clear to look but not touch. I made a promise to myself that one day I would own an E-Type.香蕉视频直播�

David instantly made an offer, but it took the car香蕉视频直播檚 owner over a year to finally agree to sell the car. The original owner香蕉视频直播檚 sudden change of heart was terrific news to David. Fortunately, David 香蕉视频直播� who was living in an apartment at the time 香蕉视频直播� had a very generous mom who agreed to park her Toyota outside, where it would endure the harsh prairie winter, while the Jag stayed snug in her garage. She also thought it was a car unlike any other.

The Series 1 3.8 Jaguar E-Type rolled off the assembly line from 1961 until October 1964 with the E-Type香蕉视频直播檚 final Series 3 car made in September 1973. Automotive journalists of the day were quick to hail the car as a design triumph that mixed beauty and high performance. The car香蕉视频直播檚 3.8-litre engine produced 265 horsepower with a top speed clocked in at 241 km/h, and it was capable of going from zero to 100 km/h in under seven seconds.

So impressive was the car, that none other than master car designer Enzo Ferrari lauded the 1961 E-Type as the most beautiful car ever made.

In 1996, the car was added to the New York Museum of Modern Art香蕉视频直播檚 permanent design collection whose curator, Christopher Mount, said, 香蕉视频直播淭he car香蕉视频直播檚 beauty and overall harmony of line arises from the designer basing its form on the ellipse, giving it a universality of the mathematical proportions, which by definition are not subjective but absolute.香蕉视频直播�

The model was based on a Jaguar race car that had been tearing up the track and smashing records in the 1950s, including three consecutive victories at the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race, considered the world香蕉视频直播檚 most prestigious automotive race and often called the 香蕉视频直播淕rand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淭he technology was really a racing-car technology,香蕉视频直播� David says. 香蕉视频直播淚t was famous for being a fast car with tremendous handling.香蕉视频直播�

The design of the Series 1 E-Type roadster香蕉视频直播檚 lightweight monocoque structure was inspired by aircraft-design principles and used elliptical mathematical curves to maximize its aerodynamic performance. It香蕉视频直播檚 exactly those smooth lines that David finds visually exciting even four decades after he brought it home for the first time.

Now, it香蕉视频直播檚 long been part of the family, he says. When his kids were born in the 1980s, David set out to rebuild and restore his aging treasure, dissembling and then reassembling it over many years. As he and his wife, Susan, raised their two children, David recalls using discarded baby food jars to store all the nuts, bolts, gaskets and other parts that were accruing on the garage floor. As they grew older, David香蕉视频直播檚 kids were slowly able to piece together the task that infatuated their father for so long.

香蕉视频直播淔or the first number of years, my kids didn香蕉视频直播檛 know what it was,香蕉视频直播� he says, 香蕉视频直播淚 don香蕉视频直播檛 think they actually knew what the car looked like or what it was until they were nine or 10. All the parts sat in our garage for years and years香蕉视频直播� until one day David took it all to a Jaguar shop where it was reassembled over a 4-year period.

And what a car it香蕉视频直播檚 become.

Did you know:

Kudos for the car: Sports Car International magazine ranked the car in top spot in its 2004 list of the top sports cars of the 1960s, and the Jaguar E-type ranked first in a list of the world香蕉视频直播檚 most beautiful cars by the Daily Telegraph in 2008.

The E-Type Roadster was the car of choice for the international man of mystery in the Austin Powers film series. More recently, Don Draper took the car for a spin in the popular Mad Men television series.