Sometimes, a car’s type is just that: the general category into which it falls. But sometimes, “Type” is part of its actual identity, so named to differentiate it from other models or trim lines. Here we have three very different cars that wore their Type proudly: The 1982-86 Toyota Supra P-Type (differentiating it from the less sporty, more luxury-oriented “L-type” trim), Buick’s 3.8-litre 1987-89 LeSabre T-Type (differentiating it from the less sporty, more luxury-oriented “French Whorehouse” trim), and from about two decades earlier, the legendary Jaguar E-type — for our purposes today, the original 1961–64 3.8-litre version specifically.
Your job is to tell me which of the three you would:
- RACE – build into some sort of dedicated racing machine (not street legal) for your choice of competition — any legitimate, sanctioned form of motorsport: road course, rally, drag, LSR, Baja, etc.;
- DAILY – have as your sole street-registered car, for all your commuting and general transportation needs.
- RESTORE – do a museum-quality, factory-correct, frame-off restoration, then add to your collection, but not drive on the street.
Your choices should be accompanied by your persuasive justification, or at the very least which choice you felt most strongly about.
GROUND RULES:
- Assume that you’re given these three vehicles outright, so there’s no acquisition cost, but the cost of race-prepping, maintaining, insuring and restoring them will be on you.
- Assume the cars are in “average condition” for their age; neither junk nor in flawless condition.
- These are your ONLY three cars. You cannot factor in any other cars you might actually own, e.g., “I’ll daily the MR2 because I have a van I can take the kids in…” Likewise, you can’t sell the restored car to buy another vehicle.
- You must assign one of the cars to each category. You can’t say, “I’ll race my street car,” or “I’ll drive that one for a season then restore it.”
- You can’t half-ass a car you don’t like, such as theoretically racing Lemons or doing a “20-footer” cosmetic restoration.
IMG CREDIT: Jaguar E-Type photo from Wikimedia Commons By DeFacto – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
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