Carsales Staff•12 Aug 2014
NEWS
Jaguar reprises lightweight E-type
Recreated 1960s vintage lightweight E-type Jaguar emerges from the workshops of Jaguar Heritage in an impressive tribute to company historyJaguar has taken some time to complete its production run of 18 lightweight E-type Jaguars. While the first 12 cars were off the line by 1964, it will have taken 50 years to bring the total up to the numbers originally intended.
Six lightweight E-types being built now – in 2014 – finalise a run of 18 cars planned in 1963 as the "Special GT E-type" project. Although a complete list of numbers was assigned to the aluminium-bodied Jaguars, only 12 were built and the remaining numbers lay dormant.
The 2014 E-types are an undertaking of Jaguar Land Rover's new Special Operations Division that has been responsible recently for a number of projects including the F-type Project 7 and the SVR-branded Range Rover Sport.
Each of the new E-types is faithful to the original lightweight concept – right down to the inline six-cylinder XK Jaguar engines.
The 3.8-litre engine is based on the twin-camshaft, hemi-head 12-valve powerplant used in the Jaguar D-type that won at Le Mans in 1957 and uses full aluminium construction. Other Jags at the time used a cast-iron block with an alloy cylinder head. The long-stroke, dry-sumped engine runs a compression ratio of 10:1 and feeds through three Weber 45DCO3 carburettors (Lucas mechanical fuel injection is available as an option). Jaguar quotes power outputs of 340bhp (253kW) at 6500rpm and 280 ft/lbs (380Nm) at 4500rpm.
The gearbox is a close-ratio four-speed all-synchromesh manual driving the back wheels through a 3.31:1 Powr-Lok limited-slip differential.
The all-independent suspension uses the classic Jaguar E-type wishbone arrangement with torsion bars at the front and four coil springs at the rear, four-wheel disc brakes and rack and pinion steering. The 15-inch cast magnesium wheels (seven inches wide at the front and eight inches wide at the rear) are fitted with CR65 compound Dunlop racing tyres.
So faithful are the recreations to the original that modern aluminium bonding techniques are avoided. The riveted and welded monocoque aluminium body contributes to a weight saving of around 114kg compared with standard E-types and attaches to a tubular subframe for the engine. Exterior panels including doors, boot lid, louvered bonnet and (standard) hardtop were created following "massively detailed" digital scans of the original body. The lightweight E-type tips the scales at just one tonne.
Clearly, the recreated E-types will be built to comply with FIA historic motorsport homologation requirements, which means even the hidden details are faithful to the original.
According to Mike Cross, who is chief engineer for vehicle integrity at Jaguar: "In our contemporary Jaguar sports cars our aim is always to achieve an immediacy of response to all driver inputs – and the goal with Lightweight E-type was the same. For me, its response to steering, brake and throttle inputs – along with the terrific noise it creates – is what makes it such an engaging machine from the driver's seat.
Creature comforts are no great focus, and conform to the standards of the 60s with aluminium bucket seats trimmed, like the centre console, in Connolly leather. But although in standard form the cars are pretty basic, with painted floor pans and door sills, upgrades such as door trims, roof lining, removable leather floor mats and a transmission tunnel cover are optionally available to add a bit more luxe.
The lightweight E-types were raced by the likes of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Roy Salvadori and Briggs Cunningham. Today, the remaining cars are regular front-runners in historic motorsport events. It is believed 11 of the original 12 cars remain today.
The six cars will be built at the new Jaguar Heritage workshop at the company's Browns Lane workshop in the UK. The first lightweight E-type in the latest production run has been designated Car Zero and is not included in the six numbered recreations.
Car Zero has undergone extensive testing at Jaguar Land Rover's Gaydon facility to validate the dynamics and establish optimum suspension settings. Each of the six production vehicles will also go through shakedown testing.
Not surprisingly, Jaguar has failed to mention anything as base as pricing for the recreated E-types, although according to British auction house Bonhams, an original lightweight could be expected to bring the equivalent of around A$2 million at auction.
Tags
Jaguar
E Type
Car News
Performance Cars
Prestige Cars
Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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