The Historic Sports Car Club will run a special race series in 2011, dedicated to the Jaguar E-Type. As the famous model celebrates its 50th anniversary, the HSCC and the Jaguar Heritage Trust have joined forces to mark the year with a series of races at high-profile historic race meetings.

The races will only be open to FIA Appendix K specification E-Types and Grahame White of the HSCC is hoping to attract a field of over 30 cars from all over the world. Races are likely to be held at Silverstone, Oulton Park, Brands Hatch and the Nurburgring.

The race at the Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting is particularly poignant as it was on 15 April 1961 that two E-Types made the model's race debut at the Cheshire track in the hands of Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori. Hill went on to win the race and begin the E-Type's motor sporting success story.

"We wanted to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original E-type, one of the world's best loved classic cars," said Tony O'Keeffe, Curator of the Jaguar Heritage Trust.

The E-Type was developed as a replacement for the XK150 and over 70,000 E Types were produced between 1961 and 1974. It was the car that Enzo Ferrari once described as the most beautiful car ever made. In March 2008, the E Type was rated first in the Daily Telegraph's list of the 100 most beautiful cars of all time.

In racing, the E-Type has been winning races for 50 years and continues to be hugely popular across historic racing. Within the HSCC, E-Types are found in the Guards Trophy, Historic Road Sports and 70s Road Sports series.