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- Sick_Cylinder
When wealthy British Hill Climb champion Jim Thomson, owner of Guyson International, lost control of his series 3 V12 E Type Jaguar on a stormy night in Yorkshire in 1972, instead of ringing his insurance company he commissioned top stylist William Towns to reclothe it in a more modern body - the result was the Guyson E12. The motor was tuned by Jaguar specialist Ron Beatty to produce 345bhp with the aid of 6 weber twin choke carbs. Unfortunately an ugly bonnet modification had to be made to clear the carbs
Motor Magazine tested the car and found that it outperformed a Ferrari Daytona costing considerably more. William Towns was so impressed with his own styling that he had a second car made for himself but with the standard 272bhp 5,340cc V12 Jaguar engine and his version had the more elegant smooth bonnet shown above.
A very rare car with only two examples made and somewhat ugly when the hood is raised as it retains the original rounded Jaguar windscreen and hood which is not a good match for the straight edges of the new body. It is difficult to imagine now, but the styling received rave reviews at the time. The Jim Thomson owned car was a rocketship of its day - space age styling and 345bhp combined with a lightweight body - I remember drooling over this car when it was originally featured in various car magazines in the early 1970's.
I love the period Wolfrace alloy wheels!
