Jaguar Lightweight E-Type Prototype To Bow At 2014 Pebble Beach Concours
Should you find yourself at Pebble Beach this weekend for the golf course’s famed Concours d’Elegance, you’ll be able to gaze upon the prototype for Jaguar’s newest skunk works project, the Lightweight E-Type.
Autoblog reports the prototype, known as “Car Zero,” will join Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations’ Pebble Beach lineup, posing for all the photos alongside the Range Rover Sport SVR and F-Type Project 7 during the Concours’ opening reception August 14. Once its promotional activities and testing are complete, the prototype will become a permanent part of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust’s collection.
As reported earlier, the final six Lightweight E-Types are picking up where the series left off in 1964, following the production of the 12th vehicle in the limited edition series. Each of the six will be built-to-order at JLR Special Operations’ Jaguar Heritage workshop, and all will be FIA-certified for historic racing.
The all-aluminum E-Type is driven to anger through a 3.8-liter I6 pushing 300 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque to the rear 15-inch wheels through a four-speed manual. Each owner will also be presented with a bespoke matching watch from the Bremont Watch Company, just so they can always know when tea (or tee) time is.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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"The all-aluminum E-Type is driven to anger through a 3.8-liter I6 pushing 300 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque to the rear 15-inch wheels through a four-speed manual." Niiiiicccceeee.
I'm torn. On one hand, they are Carroll Shelby moneygrabbing a few E-Types that will be sold to people with way too much money, and odds are a few of them will be trailer queens. On one hand, they are motherfucking Carroll Shelby'ing a few E-Types that will be sold to people with way too much money, and odds are a few of them will be vintage raced in anger.
Are they really picking up where they left off, or is this just a publicity stunt? It can't be a money making racket with so few cars involved.
It would make perfect sense to build a new line of E-types with all-modern underpinnings (and structural modifications for current crash testing), since you can't improve on the original exterior. I suspect that thought is going through a few heads at JLR. It would take major guts to do it though, as there will be a storm of criticism that classics of the past should remain in the past. If that could be overcome, there might be profits in modern versions of the Mark V-VIII saloons of the 1950s. If their current sedans aren't selling, why not?