Nigel Havers selling beloved E-Type over potholes scourge
What could be more British than the sight of a gleaming E-Type Jaguar cruising through the rolling downland of Salisbury Plain?
Arguably, only the addition of veteran actor and national treasure Nigel Havers behind the wheel.
However, in recent years the petrol-headed thespian and his classic sports car have increasingly collided – sometimes literally – with another quintessential feature of British life: the pothole.
Indeed, the star says the problem has become so bad in and around the Vale of Pewsey, where he lives, that he no longer dares take the 1970 car out for fear of damaging it.
The 72-year-old has therefore decided to sell the vehicle, which goes up for auction in Birmingham next Sunday with an estimated price of between £60 to £70,000.
Havers is breaking a decades-long relationship with the beloved Jaguar, which, he said has had “so many [famous] friends in it I couldn’t name them all”.
“I shall be sad to see it go, because it’s the most beautiful car I’ve ever known,” he said.
“I have to say, the state of the roads is not good. You have to be very smart not to hit a pothole, especially when you’ve got lorries bearing down from the other direction.
“Wiltshire’s particularly bad,” he added. “They’ve got to do something about it.
“Pothole Britain” has been held up by opposition politicians, both national and local, as emblematic of a state that is seemingly unable to address the bread-and-butter issues affecting people’s daily lives.
In November, Rishi Sunak announced £8.3 billion for local councils to tackle what he described as the “scourge”.
However, local government leaders described the money, which came from savings from scrapped parts of HS2, as insufficient, putting the real cost of repairing local roads closer to £14 billion.
“It doesn’t seem to have reached here,” said Havers, who has starred in Chariots of Fire, Downton Abbey and Coronation Street.
“The trouble with any government – not just this one – is they don’t look after the things that affect us on a day-to-day basis.
“They never get around to looking after the things that really annoy us. Instead we’re all talking about Diane Abbott.”
The nationwide problem of potholes has particularly worsened this winter due to the temperature variations and significant rainfall.
Wiltshire council, which is responsible for the non-trunk roads in the county, said it was repairing damage “as quickly as we can”.
‘These cars have got to be used’
The potholes section of its website says that some repairs can take more than 12 months.
Only last month the council’s leader, Richard Clewer, apologised for “getting political” following a heated cabinet meeting discussion on the subject.
He suggested that spending injudiciously on repairing Wiltshire’s non-principal roads could imperil funding for other services such as libraries and leisure centres.
Reflecting on his decision to sell the E-Type, Havers said: “If you have these lovely cars and you don’t drive them it’s a terrible thing.
“They’ve got to be used. I’d rather someone used them than they sit in a garage with the cover on.”
‘Most beautiful car ever made’
Manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974, the E-Type was said to have been described by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car ever made”.
Based on Jaguar’s highly successful D-Type racing car, it was built with a top speed of 151mph.
Haver’s E-Type, one of many classic cars the actor has owned over the years, has recently undergone a total rebuild of the rear end and a repaint, as well as upgraded brakes.
It will go up for auction on March 24 by Classic Car Auctions at the Practical Classics and Restoration Show sale, at the NEC in Birmingham.
Havers is also selling his 2013 Mercedes-Benz S350 Blutec, which is estimated at between £12,000 and £15,000.
Grateful for road defects information
Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire’s cabinet member for transport, said: “Unfortunately, we’ve seen an increase in potholes across the country due to factors such as recent extreme temperature variations and significant rainfall.
“While we do inspect roads regularly, we have more than 2,800 miles of highways in Wiltshire and we are grateful for the public informing us of defects. Other councils around the country are cutting their budgets, but our robust financial position means we can invest much more money into roads maintenance.
“We have invested an extra £10 million over the next two years into resurfacing roads to prevent potholes, which is on top of the £20.7 million we receive annually from the Government, plus the £3.6 million from the Government’s potholes funding, and £5.2 million over the next two years from the Road Resurfacing Fund.
“The changes won’t happen overnight but, over the coming months, people in all areas of our county will see more resurfacing work and more potholes being filled as part of our multi-million pound investment in Wiltshire’s roads.”
