Jaguar E-Type sculpture set to dominate skyline at Goodwood
A striking iteration of the Jaguar E-type, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year, will be the centrepiece at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Made out of steel tubes, the distinctive shape of the world's most-loved sports car is captured in a truly jaw-dropping manner – the result soars 28 metres into the air in front of the beautiful backdrop of Goodwood House. At 150 tonnes, the installation weighs the same as 122 Series 1 E-types and took 10 days to install by a firm specialising in bridge building.
Echoing the curved fuselage of the car itself, the sculpture has been created using half a kilometer of painted steel tubes 1,200mm in diameter. Originally intended for use in gas pipelines, these are constructed from 12mm thick steel and machined to very high tolerances. Much of the metal was donated by Tata Steel, a subsidiary of Jaguar’s parent company.
Appropriately for the car that earned itself a permanent place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the E-type’s sensual shape has been recreated and transformed into a work of art itself by world-renowned sculptor Gerry Judah. The design process began in January and was followed by detailed engineering calculations and planning stages that lasted four months.
Previous Goodwood installations have incorporated actual cars into the design but Judah explains why this year was different: “The E-type is famous for its shape but too small and delicate to hoist into the air. I thought I would like to express the form of the car itself without any embellishments. Everyone recognises the E-type, the shape speaks for itself. You can’t compete with it, you can’t digress from it.”
As well as the soaring sculpture, visitors to the event will be able to see an array of Jaguars past and present. Naturally the E-type will be taking centre-stage but also taking to the Goodwood Hillclimb course will be its famous C and D-Type racing forebears and the XK120 that founded the Jaguar sports car lineage.
The current award-winning XF, XK and XJ will also be present and the stunning C-X75 concept car, that has already wowed crowds worldwide, will provide a glimpse into Jaguar’s future.
Geoff Cousins, Managing Director, Jaguar UK said: “Jaguar has always been proud of its heritage and we feel particularly honoured to have been asked to provide the Goodwood sculpture for a second time. The E-type captures the essential beauty, drama and passion of every Jaguar – engineering and design DNA that is equally apparent in the current range.”
