It’s rare we find a star car as well used as George Best’s 1971 Jaguar E-Type. It wasn’t one car in a collection, instead it was the Manchester United legend’s primary car during his peak, becoming almost as famous as the man himself.

A 1971 Series 3 V12, George Best chose Britain’s most iconic sports car as his main drive as his career hit its peak in the early 1970s. Indeed it was this same car which he famously sped away from Old Trafford in, after his final argument with United manager Tommy Docherty. Best never played for United again and soon settled into an early retirement.

Best famously said later in his life that “I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted.” No one can argue the E-type wasn’t a fast car, with its V12 pumping out 312 horsepower, endowing it with a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of over 150mph.

Best was clearly a fan of Jaguar and the E-type, having also owned a Series 1 Roadster and Series 1.5 Coupe. Having owned previous generations of the E-type, Best referred to this car as the ‘ultimate cat’ – which in outright performance terms at least, it was.

The E-type was a popular choice among celebrities in the ’60s and ’70s, with even the rival Enzo Ferrari declaring the Series 1 the ‘most beautiful car ever made’. Brigette Bardot, Tony Cutris and Steve McQueen were just a few other to have owned the iconic Jaguar at the time.

Best’s car last publicly changed hands in October 2015, when it sold at auction for £43,000. It was described as in good condition, with a particularly immaculate blue velour interior. The car had covered 67,000 miles at the time of sale, a fair amount said to have been Best’s, as the car spent much of its life in a collection.

If this has got you in the mood for an E-Type now is the perfect time to buy one as values are on the way up!



