The Spy Who Jag'd Me

It has been years since I've stopped and thought about the Austin Powers film series, but this past weekend I passed a “Shaguar” in front of Walmart, of all places.

There really isn't any car that is less of a Walmart car than the Jaguar E-Type, and this one had the same Union Jack design that Mike Myers' character had custom painted to match his tiny briefs. I have seen Audi R8s, a Lamborghini Murcielago, and even a Ferrari Testarossa outside of big-box stores, but I would assume that the Jaguar was, at the very least, a Target vehicle.

I can't imagine that the owner had an easy time getting into or out of the parking lot, because the vehicle was surrounded by onlookers when I pulled up, and the crowd was still lingering when I left. I don't blame them. Enzo Ferrari called the E-Type “the most beautiful car ever made,” and it's hard to argue. In fact, he loved it so much that the long, rounded nose and short, smooth fastback became staples in many of his own designs. Just look at the Ferrari 250 GTO and the 275 that debuted two and three years, respectively, after the E-Type first took Swinging '60s London by storm. Malcolm Sayer had successfully translated the missile-like appearance of Coventry's D-Type race car into a gorgeously refined production icon, while also maintaining the Jag's racing pedigree with international wins at the Australian GT Championship as well as the SCCA National Championship.

Maybe the owner wasn't so much of an International Man of Mystery, but he certainly mystified the crowds of back-to-school shoppers in suburban Ashland, Virginia. And to his credit, he had great teeth and no visible chest hair. I wouldn't have been surprised, however, if he was at least hiding a ruffled white shirt and blue, crushed-velvet suit for Halloween in the back of his closet. In fact, it's pretty much a requirement. Yeah, baby!

-Trey Fennell

1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Convertible Sisal #42 Black