Passion for Cars (Cady Cars), Ieper, Belgium
Saturday October 24, 2026
On Saturday, October 24, 2026, Cady Cars (Ypres, Belgium) is hosting a grand festive evening to mark the 65th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2026, featuring a prestigious dinner and a dance party to honor this automotive icon. In March 1961, Jaguar launched the E-Type, a true sensation in the world of sports cars. Its design is unlike any other and remains exceptionally elegant to this day. But the E-Type isn’t just beautiful, it’s modern and sleek. Modern because it features unique characteristics: carefully engineered aerodynamics, headlights set behind glass, exhaust pipes centered at the rear, four-wheel independent suspension, and four-disc brakes! It’s sleek with its 3.8-liter inline-six XK engine, directly derived from the C-Type and D-Type models, five-time winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1951 and 1957. Its claimed top speed of 240 km/h was remarkable in the early 1960s.
And the icing on the cake: Jaguar offered it at a price significantly lower than its Italian competitors, Ferrari and Maserati. Enzo Ferrari, despite his reputation for having a big ego, even paid a compliment to this unexpected rival. While its name might suggest it’s a descendant of those models, it actually replaced the venerable (yet beautiful) XK-140 and XK-150. Although the E-Type competed in numerous GT races, it did not achieve the sporting success of its predecessors, but it remains a staple of historic racing today, whether it’s Le Mans Classic or the Tour Auto. Over the course of its 15-year production run, more than 72,000 E-Type models were produced, divided into three series. From two-seat coupes and 2+2 coupes to convertibles, with 3.8L or 4.2L six-cylinder engines and a 5.3L V12, the E-Type also came in numerous variants.
“Passion for Cars” showcases Thierry Dehaeck’s exceptional collection, which is undoubtedly the finest collection of SMs in the world, as well as Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, Jaguars, Maseratis, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, and a few beautiful American cars. “Passion for Cars” is usually open only to groups and by appointment, so this is a great opportunity to explore this collection.
Information and registration for the event…
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