Jaguar C-type goes back into production to celebrate 70th

Jaguar's Classic division has announced it will recreate eight examples of the Jaguar C-type to help celebrate its 70th anniversary.

One of the most successful Jaguar race cars ever, the C-type won Le Mans on its 1951 debut and repeated the victory again in 1953.

With success on the Mille Miglia and the 12 Hours of Reims, plus other international races, the original Jaguar C-type went down in history as one of the British brand's most successful racers.

For the C-type Continuation, Jaguar says the eight cars it plans to faithfully recreate will be to the original 1953 Le Mans-winning specification.

That means owners will benefit from the pioneering (back then) disc brakes on all four wheels.

Developed in partnership with Dunlop, the disc brake-equipped cars were never officially sold to the public, with privateers only allowed to purchase C-types with the inferior drum brakes.

Speaking of privateers, a total of 43 C-types out of the total original 53-car production run ended up in private team hands.

Under the bonnet, the reborn Jaguar C-type gets a 3.4-litre inline six-cylinder that features three period-correct Weber 40DC03 carburettors.

Total power is said to be around 164kW, meaning the lightweight sports car, which tips the scales at 965kg, will only offer modest performance by today's standards.

It will produce a 0-100km/h time of around 8.0 seconds, although top speed is an impressive 250km/h.

Following in the tyre tracks of recent recreations like the Lightweight E-type, XKSS and D-type, Jaguar says it will use archive material that includes the original blueprints, plus scans of a real car, to replicate the precise C-type dimensions.

Each car will be built by hand at the Jaguar Classics Works facility in Coventry using original craftsmanship techniques.

Part of the purchase process allows each of the eight buyers to specify one of the 12 original colour schemes and, for the full race car look there's also optional roundels and authentic badging.

Like other Continuation models, all eight are eligible for historic racing, with Jaguar equipping the C-types with an FIA-certified harness and roll bar, if needed.

As part of the celebrations, in 2022 all eight cars will compete in a dedicated racing event that will be announced later.

Commenting on the C-type Continuation model, Jaguar Classic chief Dan Pink said: “Driven by some of the most admired racing drivers in history, the C-type laid the foundations for Jaguar’s success in endurance racing and is synonymous with design and engineering innovation.

"Seventy years on, Jaguar Classic is proud to be able to utilise the latest innovations in manufacturing technology – alongside traditional skills and unrivalled expertise – to reintroduce this legendary car for a new generation of enthusiasts to enjoy.”