The Jaguar E-Type is an icon of British motoring and is regularly lauded as being the world's best looking car, even if American auto fans have more than a few reasons to debate that statement.

In spite of its status as a classic, it is still a relatively affordable investment if you are looking for a vintage sports car with elongated good looks, as recent auction sales have proved.

Over in the UK a 1965 E-Type 4.2 S1 FHC was up for sale this month and managed to make the equivalent of about $89,000.

That may sound like a lot, but when you consider the price of a Ferrari from the same time period, it is actually quite good value for money.

In the same auction, a 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello sold for $61,000, for example, which shows that classic British sports cars can be snapped up for only a little more than relatively modern Italian ones.

Since the E-Type was a wildly popular car in its heyday, with over 70,000 rolling out of the factory, it is not all that rare on the classic market, which means you can find pristine models and dilapidated restoration jobs to suit your tastes.