Some lucky Jag-lovers will get the opportunity to own a ‘new’ Jaguar hand-crafted at Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant in Coventry, England and built to the original specifications of the last Lightweight E-type produced in 1964. The new cars are the ‘missing’ six vehicles from the ‘Special GT E-type’ project, which originally started in February 1963 with the objective of building 18 cars.

Jaguar New Lightweight E-Type

Jaguar has just revealed the prototype of its ‘new’ Lightweight E-type. The new Lightweight E-type is the first recreation to come from Jaguar Heritage, which operates within the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations division. The 6 cars will be sold as period competition vehicles and all will be suitable for FIA homologation for historic motorsport purposes.

“With the Lightweight E-type, our focus as a design team has been to ensure justice was done to the original work of Sir William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer. Meticulous attention to detail has been everything to us in re-creating this car, just as it is in our contemporary Jaguars. I believe the result is a new Lightweight E-type that is as stunning now as the originals would have been when they were new.” – Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar

Here are tons of images for you (followed by the press release and specs): The building of it, exterior and interior studio shots and the beauty on the track.

The Build:

Exterior stills:

Details:

Poetry in Motion – On the track:

AT A GLANCE:

• Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations has unveiled its ‘new’ Lightweight E-type – hand-built by highly skilled Jaguar craftsmen in a new facility at Browns Lane
• The new Lightweight E-type is the first recreation to come from Jaguar Heritage, which operates within the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations division
• Just six customer Lightweight E-types will be built – each assigned one of the remaining chassis numbers originally allocated in 1963 to the intended 18-car ‘Special GT E-type’ project, of which just 12 were built
• The new Jaguar Heritage customer workshop facility at Browns Lane is now open to offer Jaguar warrantied servicing and restoration of classic Jaguar models
• In recreating the Lightweight, Jaguar Heritage has drawn on Jaguar’s unique engineering and design resources, including the company’s world-leading aluminium body technology
• The specification includes an aluminium bodyshell with doors, trunklid, hardtop and bonnet also in aluminium, and is assembled to exacting standards
• The six-cylinder XK engine mirrors the original power units, with an aluminium block, ‘wide angle’ aluminium cylinder head and dry sump lubrication
• The cars will be sold as period competition vehicles and all will be suitable for FIA homologation for historic motorsport purposes
• Only 12 of the original Lightweight E-types were built, all but one leaving Jaguar’s Browns Lane competitions department in 1963 (the last car was delivered in 1964)
• A prototype Lightweight – ‘Car Zero’ – has been completed and, on 14 August, will be revealed at the opening reception to the Pebble Beach Automotive weekend, the world’s most prestigious classic car event

Jaguar announced in May 2014 that it would recreate six new Lightweights, each built by Jaguar Heritage, part of Jaguar Land Rover’s new Special Operations division.

Each of the six cars will be built to a specification originated from the last Lightweight E-type produced in 1964 and will be hand-crafted at the original home of the E-type, Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant in Coventry, England. The cars will be sold as period competition vehicles and all will be suitable for FIA homologation for historic motorsport purposes.

The new cars are the ‘missing’ six vehicles from the ‘Special GT E-type’ project, which originally started in February 1963 with the objective of building 18 cars. Only 12 of the aluminium-bodied Lightweight E-types were eventually built and the remaining six designated chassis numbers having lain dormant, until now. The six new cars will carry those original, historic Lightweight E-type chassis numbers.

A race winner in the hands of a variety of famous drivers during its short competitive career, the car has achieved worldwide fame and original examples are now valued in the many millions. In recreating the Lightweight E-type, Jaguar Heritage has been able to call on the superlative skills and experience of many talented engineers and technicians already working in a variety of departments within Jaguar.

All, when offered the chance to assist with this unique project, leapt at the opportunity. Some even have an indirect link with the E-type when it was new: one master technician calculated that his family – including his grandparents, his father and his uncle – had a collective 170 years’ service at Jaguar stretching back to the early 1960s.

The expertise and attention brought to bear on this recreation project is staggering, with the full resources of Jaguar being applied to ensure that the six new Lightweights will not only be authentic, but will also be built to the highest quality standards.

LIGHTWEIGHT E-TYPE SPECIFICATION*

Engine System
Engine: Aluminium six-cylinder block, wide-angle cylinder head, dry sump lubrication, lightweight low-inertia flywheel
Displacement: 236.0 cu in (3,868cc)
Bore/Stroke: 3.46in/4.17in (88.0mm/106.0mm)
Valvetrain: 2 valves per cylinder, DOHC
Compression ratio: 10:1
Carburettors: Triple 45DCO3 Weber
Injection (optional): Lucas mechanical, 6.25in (158.7mm) butterfly trumpets
Crankshaft: Steel with steel H-section con rods
Power: 340hp/253.5kW @ 6500rpm
Torque: 280lbs ft/380Nm @ 4500rpm
Fuel tank: Mesh-filled 14-gallon (64-litre) capacity
Fuel pump: Standard E-type

Transmission and Driveline
Transmission: Jaguar 4-speed all-synchro close-ratio gearbox
Final drive casing: Cast iron, Powr-Lok limited slip differential, axle ratio 3.31:1
Gearbox oil: Castrol
Clutch: Single dry plate

Suspension and Steering
Front: Double wishbone, LWE torsion bars, uprated anti-roll bar
Rear: Jaguar independent rear suspension lower wishbones/driveshaft links, radius arms, anti-roll bar (C/O Standard E-type rear springs with uprated damper assemblies)
Steering: Standard E-type rack-and-pinion, adjustable steering column

Brakes
Brake discs (front): 12in Dia (305mm)
Brake discs (rear): 11.25in Dia (286mm)
Handbrake: Production E-type

Wheels and Tyres
Magnesium disc
wheels: Front: 15in x 7.0J, Rear 15in x 8.0J
Tyres: Dunlop (Front – 6.00L15 CR65, Rear – 6.50L15 CR65)

Electrical
Battery: 12v – 62 amp / hour
System: 12v negative-earth
Lighting: Tungsten headlamps and standard rear tail-lamps
Ignition: Electronic
Instruments: Smiths Industries
Generator: Production E-type
Starter: Production E-type
Control Box: Production E-type
Wiper motor
and blades: Production E-type

Exhaust and Cooling
Exhaust: Fabricated steel manifold, steel exhaust system with centre silencer box and twin polished tail pipes
Cooling: Aluminium E-type radiator, aluminium expansion header tank, engine oil cooler, oil sump tank

Overview
Length: 175.3in (4,453mm)
Width: 66.9in (1,700mm)
Height: 46.5in (1,181mm)
Weight: 2204.6lbs (1,000kg)
Wheelbase: 96.1in (2,440mm)
Front Track: 50.0in (1,270mm)
Rear Track: 55.0in (1,397mm)

BODY TRIM & HARDWARE
Body in white & closures
Aluminium monocoque with stiffened front sub-frame for race engines above 300bhp
Riveted and welded aluminium construction
Aluminium body closures (bonnet/doors/trunk-lid)
Aluminium detachable hard top roof
21 louvre bonnet air intakes
Black powder-coated roll cage
Front brake cooling ducts integrated with bonnet structure

Exterior trim
Side bonnet-release handles
‘Long range’ aluminium quick release fuel cap
Body colour cabin ventilation air intakes
Protective car cover (non-waterproof)
Centre bonnet catch
Oval door mirror upgrade

Interior Trim
Aluminium bucket seats with increased backrest angle and padded cushions
Rear-view mirror
Leather selection from Connolly palette
Wood-rimmed steering wheel
Aluminium gear knob and standard hand brake
Machined metal toggle and push button starter
Five-point seat belt
Black instrument panel with glove box
Bonnet and boot stands

Glass house
Clear laminated front screen
Perspex side windows and rear screen
Manual slide side windows

*Figures are manufacturer’s estimates, subject to change according to customer specification

So the six chosen customers will each receive the rarest of things – a brand new Lightweight E-type, hand-built at Browns Lane and just as desirable as one of the originals.

A Watch To Go With It. Jaguar And Bremont Launch Bespoke Wristwatch

In celebration of the new Lightweight E-types, Jaguar has also furthered its relationship with the Bremont Watch Company. Bremont will create six bespoke ‘E-type’ watches, each of which will be offered to customers of the six new Lightweight E-types. Drawing inspiration directly from the car, the 43mm watch features a black dial based on the look of a Lightweight RPM gauge and featuring a subtle ‘red zone’ quadrant. The chamfered hour and minute hands replicate the instrument’s tachometer needle, while the chassis number of the relevant car is printed at the six o’clock position.

Front:

The central band of the white gold case is made from aluminium saved during the construction of the new Lightweight body panels and will be anodised to match the colour of the car it is designed to complement.

Other touches include a winding crown which is engraved with the pattern of the period-correct Dunlop racing tyres which will be fitted to the continuation Lightweights, and straps made from the same Connolly leather which is being used for the interior trim.

Turning the watch over reveals a further reference to the car in the form of the automatic winding rotor – visible through a sapphire crystal case back – which takes the form of an exquisite miniaturisation of an alloy-spoked Lightweight steering wheel, complete with authentic wooden rim. The back of each watch also carries the engine number of the car it is paired with.

Back:

To read the full Jaguar and Bremont releases, see: media.jaguar.com

information and images courtesy of DNA