The remnants of 1970s Jaguar E-Type turned into Guyson E12

Unique ONES As an automotive enthusiast, you must have a favorite ride. Well, what if the beloved ride is damaged or even destroyed in an accident. Maybe some of us would have surveyed the damage, contacted the insurers and either arranged to have the damage repaired or visited a local showroom to order a new one.

The Guyson E12 was designed and built by William Towns for Jim Thompson based on 1972 Jaguar E-Type Version III . (Picture from: KlassiekerPassie.nl)

However, Jim Thompson, a former British hill-climb champion who was also Managing Director of Guyson International, a sandblasting equipment manufacturer then, did something different when his Jaguar E-Type was destroyed in an accident. He decided to contact designer William Towns and ask him to come up with something unique based on his E-Type remnants.

1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 like this which formed the basis of the Guyson E12 designed and built by William Towns for Jim Thompson back in 1974. (Picture from: Wikipedia)

In short, Towns agreed to work on the E-Type up to it has a completely new and unprecedented body as Jim Thompson' wishes. Furthermore, he made intial drawings, continue removed the damaged engine cover and the still-pristine bootlids, then caked the remaining fore and aft with the type of clay used in the styling studio when building car models.

The initial sketch of the Guyson E12 was drawn by William Towns. (Picture from: KlassiekerPassie.nl)

Deftly he shaped the clay according to the initial sketches of the car he had made. William seems not to have drawn anything freehand, but to have drawn all lines along a ruler, just like his other designs, the Aston Martin Lagonda and his 1978 Towns Hustler. The next step, he made a series of molds from the resulting clay model, from which a set of glassfibre body panels was created.

The unique Guyson E12 which was originally finished in yellow before it's got a rebuilt engine done by Ron Beatty. (Picture from: HepworthInternational)

Along with other body parts were made of synthetic fiber then attached to the existing E-Type body with screws and filler. So the original E-Type is still under the skin, with which it retains its firmness and you could, in principle, 'conjure' the car back to its original shape. Bizarre! This will obviously not benefit the weight; two bodies on one chassis.

The Ron Beatty' rebuilt engine attached on the Guyson E12 is capable of producing around 345 bhp of power which is achieved with the help of six Weber LDF 44 mm carburetors. (Picture from: BelowTheRadar)

Then what about the engine? As quoted from Aronline, this unique Guyson E12 which was originally finished in yellow uses a rebuilt engine done by Ron Beatty who is known as a Jaguar engine tuner specialist. 

The second model of the Guyson E12 was constructed for Towns' personal use, which was based on a standard E-type S3 with automatic transmission. (Picture from: DrivesToday)

The rebuilt engine is capable of producing around 345 bhp of power which is achieved with the help of six Weber LDF 44 mm carburetors. Unfortunately, due to its large size, the top of the bonnet must be cut in such a way so that they could poke through and then conditioned by adding a special hood to protect it properly.

The Guyson E12 seems not to have special looks in freehand, but had all lines along a ruler drawn by William Towns. (Picture from: ClassicAndRecreationSportscar)

Nevertheless, when Thompson took delivery of his unique commissioned car in 1974, he was suitably impressed. It is natural, with such a unique appearance, not only Thompson was amazed, but many other people too. Even one of Jaguar employees reportedly were also amazed when accidentally met the car at a motorway service station. Not only that, as quoted from Aronline, it turns out that the uniqueness of the Guyson E12 has also attracted interest from the medias to try out the car's capabilities.

The Guyson E12 featured with such a unique appearance, not only Thompson was amazed, but many other people too. (Picture from: KlassiekerPassie.nl)

As the Motor Magazine which once tested it against the Ferrari Daytona (costing more than four times the standard E-Type with engine upgrades), and the result Guyson managed to become the winner. Meanwhile, other media, Fast Cars at that time only saw the uniqueness of its shape, then said that the Guyson E12 of William Towns worthy to be likened with one of Rachmaninov’s sublime variations on a theme of Paganini.

William Towns was so pleased with his creation that he had a second set of sheet metal parts made for his own E-Type powered by the standard 272 bhp 5,340cc V12 Jaguar engine, and even planned to supply body kits on a commercial basis. Unfortunately it didn't come that far and it stayed with two units. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | KLASSIEKERPASSIE.NL | ARONLINE | BELOWTHERADAR | DRIVESTODAY | WIKIPEDIA | HEPWORTH INTERNATIONAL | GTPLANET.NET ]

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