The iconic and much loved Jaguar E-Type will, in March 2021, be celebrating being 60 years old.
To commemorate this occasion Jaguar has announced that it will be offering a limited run of 60 (of course, as is now traditional among motor manufacturers) restomod versions via Jaguar Classic.
Jaguar Classic is the manufacturer’s in-house department existing solely to make sure that the rich heritage of Jaguar is treated with respect and accuracy. The impressive new Jaguar Classic Works facility is purpose built and they say, the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. The facility allows Jaguar Classic to complete tasks under one – very large – roof, with 54 workshop bays and a dedicated engine shop. It’s all very impressive. Perfect for a restomod E-Type in fact.
Jaguar Classic will create 6 pairs of E-Type. One Fixed Head Coupé modelled on the 9600HP registered vehicle that drove from Coventry to Switzerland on the eve of the unveiling of the first Jaguar E-Type. In addition, a matching E-Type Roadster modelled on the hand-built prototype 77RW registered vehicle that was driven non-stop from the factory to Geneva in Switzerland by the company’s chief tester, Norman Dewis, to meet a demand for the vehicle at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show.
The 77RW E-Type is the oldest E-Type in existence, and you may remember it was most prominent in recent times at the wedding of Pippa Middleton in 2017. Or maybe you might even recall the famous shot by photographer Brian Duffy of the same E-Type on the newly opened M1 Motorway (it’s a fine pic; you can buy a print of this for just over £4,000 incidentally…)
It’s worth stopping at this point just to emphasise an obvious aspect of all this which may just slip over our collective heads – these are not going to be simply rebadged models with uprated suspension and maybe a tweaked engine and a bit of badging, these are gong to be lovingly recreated versions of the original E-Type, fuelled mostly by nostalgia but with a few modern extras to make the cars a little more pleasurable to fussy modern tastes. Each will be built by a hand-picked team.
The cars together will be called the Jaguar 60 Edition Collection, consisting of the aforementioned pairs named (with a smile) the Flat Out Grey 9600HP Coupé and the Drop Everything Green 77RW Roadster. Jaguar’s Design Director Julian Thomson played a big part in the development of these sports cars, adding 60th commemorative E-Type design details.
If all the above has whetted your appetite (and why wouldn’t it have) then I am afraid to say that we don’t have much more information to offer. Jaguar is so far keeping a tight lid on exactly what we will be getting in any detail. It’s been suggested that the 3.8-litre straight-6 engine might be ‘restored’ to original spec, after all, these sports cars are not going to be built to impress those who drool over 0-60mph statistics, these will be aimed at true classic car aficionados and lovers of the E-Type brand. Indeed, Dan Pink, the Director of Jaguar Classic has suggested that Jaguar hopes that these limited run models will create a long lasting tribute to the E-Type’s 60th anniversary.
We will keep you posted on developments of course – these are going to be very special cars. No pricing as yet, but how does the old saying go, ‘if you have to ask you can’t afford it’. Well considering that the 3.8-litre Jaguar Classic Reborn E-Type will set you back at least £315,000, you can start wincing now.
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