Jaguar is bringing just-issued versions of its lightweight E-types to the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance.
These are not restored cars but brand-new versions of what, a half-century ago, were special aluminum-bodied race-ready versions of the iconic E-type roadster. Known as the Special GT, the Lightweight E-type was a success on the racetrack in the mid-1960s. Jaguar built only 12 of a planned run of 18. Now, 50 years after the last one was built, Jaguar is going to build the last six using the “dormant” chassis numbers from 1964. You can think of it as a brand-new 1964 E-type that took 50 years to build. But don’t count on the government thinking these E-types are 1964 models. Jaguar doesn’t consider the cars to be street legal, but you will be able to take them vintage racing.
These six E-types will be built from scratch at the cars’ ancestral home in Browns Lane, Coventry. Jaguar Heritage, a newly formed group within Jaguar, will create and assemble the cars. The last Lightweight, number 12, was used as the template for “Car Zero,” the prototype that isn’t included in the six-car run. The achingly gorgeous bodywork is largely done in-house, and unlike the hand-beaten originals, computer-aided design will help make the bodies symmetrical.
Under the long hood is Jaguar’s famous 3.8-liter inline-six. Equipped with a Le Mans–winning D-type-inspired cylinder head and a dry-sump oiling system, the aluminum-block engine has a 10:1 compression ratio and makes 340 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm. Fuel injection is optional; three double-barrel sidedraft Weber carburetors are standard.
Jaguar intends for the cars to go vintage racing and will prepare them for a life on the track. The E-type’s suspension is tuned for the racing, larger front brakes are installed, and a limited-slip differential is standard. Dunlop racing tires mount to 15-inch magnesium wheels.
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Jaguar is tight lipped about what it’ll cost to buy one of these six cars, but considering their rarity and custom-made nature, we wouldn’t be surprised by a million-pound price tag—that’s $1.7 million to you, American sir. Which will probably be chump change at Pebble Beach this year.
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