When were steel wheels first offered as an option? And why?

 

The Series 2 E-type first offered steel wheels. It was thought (according to Jaguar sales literature) that they looked more "modern" and certainly were easier to clean. Lightweight E-types has alloy wheels but there were only 12 of those and they certainly were not steel.

 

Thank you. So, was the steel wheel an "upgrade" that the buyer paid extra for?