John Barry E-type: Maserati Engine?

OK - this is to settle an argument:

I have a friend on another forum who absolutely insists that film director/producer John Barry had a Jaguar E-type back in the 60s which had - get this -

A "Maserati V-12 Engine custom installed". I told him that to my knowledge, Maserati never made a road going V-12 (unless you count the Enzo engine in their version of the Enzo) - so then he dropped the V-12 part but still insists it had a Maserati engine.

I told him that we would definately have to have pictures of it in the engine bay to believe such a thing. Has anybody else ever heard such a wild story, or is this just 1960s celebrity hype?

Pictures - (of the car, at least - plus his then-wife, Jane Birken):
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OK - correction - he was not a British Film Director - he was a composer of film music.

Whatever - I had no idea who he was, but was interested in the preposterous Maserati-Jaguar story.

 

Dear God! Was this man insane? Combining the stellar reliability of Maserati engines with Jaguar electricals into one automobile?!? Did he never have to be anywhere on time?

Edit: Upon further review of the photos, I think this may have all been to plan. Who WOULDN'T want to be stranded on a dark country road late at night with a passenger like that?

 

I remember a friend telling me about helping a neighbor install a Pontiac six-banger in an E-type back in the sixties. Anything is possible.

A lot of Maserati engines have dual spark plugs so it's possible that a DOHC six cylinder with 12 plug wires looked like a 12 cylinder.
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Excellent point.

Yes, the girl really does like like she should have been a go-go dancer on Laugh-In, or a bit part player on an Austin Powers movie.

I told my guy that this was complete bullsh*t without pictures of the engine bay...but just wanted to put it up here for comment in case someone else had heard this.

BTW - that XKE coupe really WAS a gorgeous car, agreed?

 

IIRC, John B was the composer of the famous James Bond movies theme.

Jane Birkin...wasn't she singing with Serge Gainsbourg on the (in)famous Je t'aime, moi non plus? Caused quite the stir when it came out.

The Jag XK and Naser 3,5, 3,7 and 4,0 ltr engines are not very dis-similar in their form, not that hard to imagine that someone did the suggested transplant.

 

I agree that the engines were similar - but it leaves the monumental question - WHY ?

I told my friend that we are putting this down to unconfirmed (probably unconfirmable) urban legend - and an obscure urban legend at that.

BTW - thanks for the information on Barry and Birkin.

 

In an admission of guilt - my friend says that he was completely mistaken about the car.

He knew that Barry had an XKE in the 1960s, and that he later had a Citroen/Maserati SM in the 1970s and had gotten the two confused. Thus, he thought the E-type had a Maserati engine.

We suspect that he just made up the V-12 part because of the famous Ferrari, and he knows I have a Ferrari 12.

BTW - I think that everybody who had one of those SM types must have emphasized the Maserati engine because otherwise the thing was such a terrible dog.

 

My authority on John Barry tells me that this song precipitated the Barry/Birkin divorce - seems that it made certain things between Gainsbourg and Birkin just a little too obvious...

 

James,

Did you listen to the song? It could have only ever been recorded by genuine lovers, so I can well imagine that it would have caused trouble!

Thanks for letting us know your friend 'fessed up. Is he going to send all contributors a bottle of Champers for the harm he's done?

Best,

Jack.

 

I don't know, but he is a pretty decent sort of fellow. At least I learned something about John Barry and Jane Birkin from this...

 

So did I. It's all good!

 

Agreed! So much so, I own one!