Description
Chassis 875511 was dispatched on the 29th September 1961 directly to a Mr Hans Schenk of the Bahamas via East Bay Service Ltd of Nassau - in cream paint, light blue trim and blue hood, it was soon registered 'NP975'. Schenk was a celebrity chef in the Bahamas and bought the car for the sole purpose of winning at the world-famous International Bahamas Speed Week. Schenk was also a driver of some note, winning many races and building up quite a following as a man-about-town in the Caribbean, having raced competitively since 1957.
By December 1961, Schenk and the brand new E-type were ready for 'Speed Week'- a truly international event attended by greats including Peter Revson, Chris Amon, Jackie Stewart, Bruce McLaren, Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez, Jack Brabham, Jim Hall, Wolfgang von Trips, Jo Bonnier, Ken Miles, Frank Gardner, John Surtees, Richie Ginther, Masten Gregory, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Stirling Moss, Lance Reventlow, Dan Gurney, Peter Collins, Carroll Shelby, Innes Ireland, A. J Foyt, Roger Penske, Mark Donohue and many more. With the addition of a black nose to the car, and with sponsorship from Goodyear tyres and Champion spark plugs, Schenk and his Jaguar now had a very distinctive livery too.
In his first ever race in the car, Schenk placed an impressive 2nd overall, behind the highly-developed and very rapid Austin[1]Healey-Corvette of Tony Adams. Another 2nd would follow during the 1961 event, giving him high hopes for next year. 1962 saw Schenk up against even stiffer opposition, especially from other E-types now appearing on the Islands. He was though immediately on the pace, bagging a 2nd place in race one of the week and securing his first overall victory in race two, seeing off opposition from Jaguar, Porsche, Lotus, MG, Triumph, and Austin-Healey. His final race of the week was the prestigious 'Bahamas Cup' race, which Schenk and NP975 promptly won, at an average speed of 77. 216mph.
1963 saw Schenk and NP975 take a clean sweep of the Speed Week, winning race one, race two and once again the Bahamas Cup race, at an impressive average speed of 79. 841mph.
For 1964, and in a bid to keep winning, Schenk moved onto a competition Shelby Cobra, selling the E-type to his rival Tony Adams. Race one and two of that year's Speed Week would see Adams pipped to the post by Schenk in the thundering Cobra, whilst he managed to hang on to a very well earned podium in the Bahamas Cup.
1965 would be the last year of competition use for NP975, but there was no lack of pace - Tony Adams securing a second place in the Bahamas Cup, giving the car an amazing four podiums on the trot from 1962-1965.
In late 1965, Tony Adams would take his E-type on a European driving tour before settling with it in Australia. The third owner would be a Mr. Skevington, who would eventually undertake a AUD 145, 000 restoration from 1997-1999, later registering the car '61 ETYPE' in Perth.
In 2003 the car was purchased by Dr. Nimal Jayaratne who bought the car to the UK in 2005 and registered it '405 UXO'.
In 2017, Duncan Hamilton ROFGO discovered the car and its fabulous racing history.
Today chassis 875511 has been restored to exacting 'Bahanams' race-specification by CKL Developments, and has previous invites into the Goodwoood Revival's flagship Kinrara Trophy.
Very seldom to original competition Jaguar E-types appear, especially ones with both success and rich and colourful histories.
