Six Jaguar E-Type Lightweights Reincarnated
At the height of the E-Type’s prime years of racing and production, Jaguar designed and produced a Lightweight edition race car. These Es were destined for privateers or racing team garages to compete in International GT races like Le Mans.
In 1963, the foundation was set to produce 18 Lightweight edition race cars in the Brown’s Lane assembly plant. However the Jaguar E-Type wasn’t as successful as previous Jaguars on the racetrack, leading to its undesirability. A total of 18 serial numbers were created, but only 12 of these super Jaguar E-Type Lightweights were actually built in the ‘60s. But this limited production Jaguar factory built E-Type, specifically designed as a slimmed down speedy race car, would end up becoming the most coveted E ever. So Jaguar set out to finally create the final six Lightweight E-Types using period building techniques with today’s manufacturing quality. These limited release production models were made available to the public at a price of approximately 1.2 million pounds.
To build the new cars, the last Lightweight #12 model built in the early 1960s was digitally examined and cataloged by Jaguar Heritage to unlock every aspect of its construction. Using the same aluminum chassis, the spot welding and riveting techniques from yesteryear, and the precision of today took the level of attention to detail above the original LW-E. As you can see in the video below, Jaguar’s newly-built old car takes new-old-stock to new heights.
The Jaguar Heritage garage used the same smooth engine from the original E-Type to offer that passionate British spirit. These are purist automobiles. Powered by a 3.8-liter straight-six engine, the Lightweight E-Type produces 340 HP. Jaguar Heritage didn’t allow a lot of customization out the gate, but they did allow the owner to choose carbs or mechanical injection. It sounds like most owners went with mechanical injection, but I hear Jaguar feels there is no comparison to their carbed 3.8-liter to get that original feel and sound. Geared through a traditional 4-speed manual transmission at roughly 2200 pounds and over 300HP makes this a thoroughbred for the track with a primo power-to-weight ratio.
Pushing this E-Type through a corner looks effortless from the video below. It looks like the E-Type is well balanced for smooth transitions in and out of corners, which promotes a feeling of communication unheard of in today’s vehicles, even today’s Jaguars. A well-known high-tech feature of the E-Type’s chassis is its independent rear suspension using four shock absorbers that gives it such a special feel of grip, even with thin tires.
How much would you pay for this E-Type? How far would you travel for this E-Type? Are you keeping this on your garage list for the future when they hit the auctions in the next decade?
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
Via [Evo, Motor Trend]