E Type Jaguar

 

The 307 and 312 models of the E Type Jaguar are classic Corgi Toys. The first issue was in either plum red or dark metallic grey and appeared in March 1962. It had a detachable hard top which was made of quite delicate plastic and many got broken. 

In September 1964 a little more life was obtained from the casting when plated edition was issued. this had a black interior in place of tan, a racing stripe with racing number 2 and wire wheels. It was only the second model to be issued with wire wheels at the outset, the first being the Buick Riviera a few months earlier. I have always thought that these should also have been fitted to the 307 model and I am sure that would have also continued to sell well.

Although you can now buy replacement hard tops in black, which do look extremely smart, especially on the dark grey model, only the plum red flavour was available at the time.

There are not many variations with this model. The 312 can be found in either silver or pale gold, very much like the Studebaker Golden Hawk (although the plating is a quite different process with the E Type which seems thinner and it has remained smooth and not become roughened or corroded).

The 307 can be found without the 307 model number on the base, presumably in later editions. The model number is missing from all the 312 issues and they also have an extra rivet to retain the base.

The 312 was issued with a driver - the same chap with a blue hat that you will find in the 318 Lotus Elan boxed issue and, I think, the Marcos 1800GT.

In June 1968 Corgi would release the 2+2 model, first with a 4.2 litre engine and later, with Whizzwheels in 5.3 litre form. Although it had an array of features I never found it as an attractive model as the earlier issue and it also always struck me as too big. You couldn't park the two models net to each other as they simply looked odd. In fact the 1968 issue is said to be 1:43 scale, whereas the 1962 and 1964 issues were rather smaller at 1:46. What may sound like a small difference is actually quite marked.

I shall deal with the later issue another day. I just happened to have the five shown here on my desk today and felt inclined to write about them. I may be able to copy and paste this in March 2022 for its 60th Anniversary! Perhaps by then I will have found one of the 307s without the model number on the base. So far those that I have seen have been immaculate models in boxes at high prices but I am sure there will be others and it does not appear to be a particularly scarce variety. Less common, certainly, but not dramatically so.