Jaguar builds new E-Types 50 years after GT's retirement
Seminal grand tourer reborn from scratch – with choice of modern features and 18-carat gold badges
Jaguar has put the E-Type back into (very limited) production to mark 50 years since the seminal GT's retirement.
The firm's in-house historic vehicles division, Jaguar Classic, has used original blueprints to build two new E-Types from the ground up for a client in Southeast Asia, revealing them a half-century after the final example of the original car rolled off the line in Coventry.
Designed to original Series I E-Type specification but inspired by the run-out Series III Commemorative Edition, they are the only 'new' E-Types ever to leave the Jaguar Classic workshop, said the firm.
Both are drophead coupés, one finished in Signet Green and the other in Opal Black - both variations of colour schemes that were on the options list in 1974.
They draw their power from the 3.8-litre straight six that powered the E-Type from 1961-1964, though now equipped with electronic fuel injection in place of the original's triple SU carbs and a five-speed, rather than four-speed, manual gearbox.
Jaguar has not given a power figure, but no doubt it's up on the Series I's 265bhp.
There are other subtle modernisation measures inside, where creature comforts including a Bluetooth radio and heated windscreen have been 'discreetly' integrated in a bid to enhance usability.
In keeping with their highly exclusive positioning, the Commemorative E-Types are also fitted with hand-woven Bridge of Weir tan leather seats, an aluminium centre console engraved with an original E-Type design blueprint and knurled silver toggle switches on the dashboard.
Meanwhile, renowned Birmingham jewellery firm Deakin & Francis has refinished the 'growler' badges in 18-carat gold and mother-of-pearl.
It has yet to be revealed how much the two 'new' E-Types will cost their owner, but it will be significantly more than Jaguar Classic's £315,000 'Reborn' E-Type from 2021 – a restoration rather than a 'new' car. Each took more than 2000 hours to build, said the firm.
The Commemorative E-Types arrive not long after Jaguar ended production of the GT's spiritual successor, the F-Type. The XE and XF saloons have been retired, too, as has the E-Pace crossover, and the final units of the F-Pace SUV will roll down the line in Solihull over the coming weeks.
Jaguar will reveal a concept for its first new-era electric car – a sleek, luxurious GT – in December but will have no new cars on sale for around a year after that, instead focusing on aftersales and brand-positioning activities as it ramps up for an all-out electric reinvention in 2026.