My nose is very sensitive to odors. I have owned my E from new and over the years and my wife always knows when I have been out in the car because my clothes smell. It is not the smell of fine leather, more like the smell of rotting leather or foam? I have sat in many old British cars and the smell is the same. If a roadster there is a different set of odors, believe the fabrics absorb all kinds of odors. Over the years I have tried all kinds of potions, but they just cover up the odors with another odor. My son was living with us for a few months in my man cave off the garage and his girlfriend burns sage. Can’t stand the smell and airing out for weeks did not work. Did some research and found some car detailers use a device to eliminate odors from smokers. Have done 3 cars with this device and it does work, for how long I do not know yet? The device is an ozone generator (not legal in California) but found one company that makes a commercial version that is labeled so it can be sold in Ca?
I placed unit in the car with windows closed and ran for ten minutes. Air out well and do not breathe in, dangerous. The unit I got is a larger one for the use in my mancave and they also offer a smaller one for cars. Mfg. by Forever Ozone. Caution, it is dangerous to breathe
in ozone.
Glenn
Thanks Glenn, we purchased a replacement car for the wife a bout 2 months ago and there is now the inevitable smell of cigarettes 
(Japanese import ), googled ozone generators and ordered one from the WISH web site
A couple of years ago, I drove over to Phoenix to look at a very nice, highly-original, low-mileage E-type, and I drove the car about 8-10 miles.
As I set off home, I could tell the smells of the car lingered on me…fuel, exhaust, oil, leather, etc. During the 5-hour drove home, I felt like the smell had worn off me, but the moment I walked in the door, my wife asked “What’s that smell?!”
It might be time to install an interior kit. There’s lots of rotten stuff that comes out of a 50-year-old car.
I hope my nose is not messed up but I love the smell in my E. It had the carpet, seat covers, console leather and dash pad replaced once many years ago but I think everything else including the jute material is 52 years old. My car never gets wet though and since has zero rust I think its exposure to moisture has been minimal for its whole life.
David
68 E-type FHC
Rovers also have a very distinctive smell: part of that is the Wilton wool carpets.
All P6s smell the same!
Yeah, it’s a nice smell…under the right circumstances, that is. I wouldn’t want to go out to a nice dinner with the smell lingering on me, and I’m guessing more men find it to be a “nice” smell than do women.
The closest thing I’ve ever smelled to an E-type was when I was taking some offshore survival training down in Louisiana.
They kept all the fire-fighting paraphernalia in a shipping container. Inside the container, there were leather fire-fighting jackets, leather boots with wool (?) liners, cans of gas and diesel fuel, wooden floors that had oil spilled on them…all stewed together in the baking Louisiana heat and humidity. I walked in there, and went “It smells just like my E-type in here”.
God, I love the smell of a hot E-Type in 90 degree weather! It’s the odor of leather over burning oil. Kind of like an old library with dusty, antique leather bound books crossed with a campfire fueled by a teaspoonful of 30 weight…
Mine has all those smells, leather oil gas exhaust,plus a hint of cat piss.
Yasss, a former acquaintance and previous E-Type owner referred to this exclusive fragrance as “Old Jag”
After years of my wife complaining about the exhaust smell and being reluctant about riding with me I started replacing all the rubber window and door gaskets. I still can’t take her for a drive when it is hot and windows down weather but on cool days with the windows up and the heater fan on even slightly there is virtually no smell inside the cabin beyond old leather. Took both my wife and Jag out to breakfast last week and neither complained about how the other smelled.
Bp
…of “rich Corinthian leather”’.