Electric shock: Jaguar creates zero-emission E-type

Jaguar has shocked (and angered) purists by re-engineering its iconic E-type roadster as a pure-electric sports car.

Revealed at the Jaguar TechFest conference in London overnight, the new battery-powered E-type is the work of an 18-month restoration and conversion by Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) Classic Works.

Called the E-type Zero, the zero-emissions roadster comes powered by a 220kW electric motor that ensures it's quicker than the original, taking just 5.5 seconds to hit 100km/h.

Top speed, meanwhile, is claimed to match the original's 250km/h.

Powered by a 40kWh lithium-ion battery, the 1960s Jag comes with a range of more than 270km.

Cleverly, the battery cells are placed in the same space that has been vacated by the 1968 E-type's 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine, while the electric motor occupies the space where the old four-speed manual lived.

Instead of a gearbox, power is transmitted along the standard car's prop-shaft to a single reduction gear in the rear axle.

In the boot, the pure-electric powertrain's inverter and electronics are packaged.

Sharing some parts with the forthcoming i-PACE, insiders at Jaguar were at pains to say the electric conversion was carried out on a particularly rotten barn-find E-type that had been left to decay, and that an original, unrestored car was not sacrificed to create the E-type Zero.

It was rmoured to have cost more than £300,000 ($A500,000) to produce,

Jaguar claims it has already received interest from prospective buyers and, if there is enough demand, Jaguar Land Rover Classic could produce a small batch of cars for customers, including those from Australia, an insider has confirmed.