Chassis 860696 was delivered new to her first owner in New York in August 1962 with registration number 2353 WK. The car was purchased by a very wealthy 28-year-old Sarah Brown, believed to have been the heiress to the American Express empire, as evidenced by the original export document for the car on file and her Upper East Side address at 7 Gracie Square. The car was in fact a gift to her boyfriend George W Burgess Jr, who seemingly wanted to go racing with her as the car was delivered with competition options from the factory, including roll cage and outside laced competition wire wheels.
With E-Types being such hot property at that point in the United States, long delays were expected for delivery of LHD examples across the country, so Sarah smartly decided to circumvent the queue and order a RHD example from the UK. 860696 was therefore registered in the UK and exported to the USA, explaining why the car was delivered new with UK registration number 2353 WK, which it retains to this day!
Records show 2353 WK was entered in the 1962 SCCA Virginia race, but seemingly never showed up, before participating in the SCCA Bridgehampton 1hr NASCAR support race. Either tired of the car or of his girlfriend, Burgess sold the car in 1972 to Kenneth J. Gouvin of Connecticut. The car passed by a couple of other owners on the east coast of the USA before arriving in the hands of Mark Wustrack, a previous owner’s mechanic, in 2005.
In 2018, she was imported back into the UK and sent to specialists Valley Motorsport so the car could finally start the racing career it was supposed to have! Valley prepared the car to 1961 specification in view of making the car eligible for the coveted Pre-63 GT series and for the Goodwood Revival. 2353 WK’s historic racing career started off with participation in the Sir Stirling Moss Trophy at the 2022 Goodwood Revival, finishing in 10th position. The current owner has since continued to race her around the UK, with appearances at the 80th Goodwood Members Meeting, 2023 Silverstone Classic and 2024 Donington Festival.
860696 retains a healthy assortment of spares, including the original matching numbers engine and gearbox, and original Outside Laced Competition Wire wheels. The car’s history file also boasts incredibly rare documents such as the car’s original warranty card, bill of sale and Jaguar maintenance vouchers. Accompanied by FIA HTP papers valid until 2032, 860696 is a highly competitive, largely original race-ready car bolstered by lovely and complete period history.
