E-type is the UK's favourite sports car

The iconic Jaguar E-type, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has been voted the UK's favourite sports car of all time by race-goers and classic car fans.

Almost 3,000 visitors to an on-line poll voted for their favourite from a list of 15 hopefuls. The E-type sprinted into an early lead and at the chequered flag had claimed nearly one in four votes to beat the evergreen Morgan into second place. The brutal TVR Griffith claimed the final podium spot in third.

The poll was run by the organisers of the Silverstone Classic, the world's largest classic motorsport festival which takes over the Northampton circuit over the weekend of 22-24 July.

More than 1,000 examples, both road-going and racers, are expected at the Silverstone Classic event.
 The poll result is fitting for the E-type's big birthday is being marked at this month's Silverstone Classic with two headline races with up to 58 examples taking to the grid. The organisers are also hoping to set a world record with a cavalcade of 1,000 road-going examples parading around the 3.66-mile long Grand Prix circuit.

The Top Ten favourite British Sports cars are:

1. Jaguar E-type 24.3%
2. Morgan 16.3%
3. TVR Griffith 12.0%
4. AC Cobra 7.4%
5. Aston Martin DB5 7.2%
6. Lotus 7, 7.1%
7. Austin Healey 3000 6.0%
8. Jaguar XK 120 5.6%
9. Lotus Elan 4.1%
10. MGB 2.5%

The remaining five of the 15 icon British sports cars on the list were:

11. Triumph Spitfire
12. Triumph TR6
13. Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite
14. MGA
15. Triumph TR3

The three-day festival of rocking and racing promises to be action-packed from dawn to dusk. With 22 races planned, racing fans are guaranted plenty of action from huge variety of historic and classic racing cars.

Among the highlights are six races for Grand Prix cars, plus events for Touring Cars from the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Le Mans racers, GTs and the fearsome Group C sports cars of the 1980s.

There's also a celebrity challenge with stars such as Heston Blumenthal, Jo Wood and Brendan Cole taking to the track in identical Morgan sports cars to raise money for cancer research. Rocker Suzi Quatro is pictured here with the E-type.

Jamie Oliver's Fabulous Feats will look after the catering in the Village Green area.

Over 120 car clubs will be displaying more than 7,000 classics.

For Irish enthusiasts planning to travel to Silverstone - and there will be many fans making the trip - you can purchase your tickets via the ticket hotline (0871 231 0849) or via the official event website www.SilverstoneClassic.com. Prices are: Friday £35; Saturday, £45; Sunday, £45. Children between 6-16 are just £5 a day and under 5s go free. The ticket price includes car parking, grandstand seating, paddock access and live music. Camping is available.