Lightweight E-Type to show historic side of Jaguar Special Operations in Monterey

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Jaguar Lightweight E-Type

Jaguar has made a lot of great vehicles over the years, but as far as historians are concerned, it still very much lives in the shadow of the original E-Type, small as it was. In its image, Jaguar has made two generations of XK and the new F-Type, but what we have here is the most faithful continuation of the E-Type heritage yet.

Alongside the Range Rover Sport SVR and the F-Type Project 7 (making its US debut), Jaguar Land Rover and its new Special Operations division will roll into Pebble Beach this year with the continuation Lightweight E-Type. Of the 72,500 E-Types which Jaguar built between 1961 and 1975, only a dozen were Lightweight versions, and they remain the most coveted E-Types of all. It originally planned on building 18 examples, though, and five decades later, it's now committed to completing that original production run in faithful detail.

Jaguar Lightweight E-TypeThe Lightweight E-Type was based on the standard roadster and was homologated as such, just with some key upgrades to make it lighter and faster. The biggest change, of course, was the lightweight aluminum bodywork that cut 205 pounds off the curb weight. To replicate it, Jaguar took the last example (the only one made in 1964 after the original eleven were made in '63), scanned half its body surface, mirrored it to ensure symmetry and set about reproducing it with the same standard of materials available in the Sixties (and resisting the urge to go with more modern grades of aluminum). 75 percent of the 230 components are made in-house, with the largest stampings outsourced and built on machinery built to Jaguar's specifications off-site.

Like the originals, the continuation Lightweight E-Type uses an engine based on that in the Le Mans-winning D-Type, but ditches the iron block in favor of an aluminum one. The 3.8-liter inline-six features triple carbs, dry-sump lubrication and optional mechanical fuel-injection to deliver upwards of 300 horsepower and about 280 pound-feet of torque, channeled through a four-speed manual, fully synchronized with a single-plate clutch, lightweight flywheel and Powr-Lok limited slip differential.

All of that rides on 15-inch perforated wheels wearing Dunlop racing tires. The Lightweight packs the same rear brakes as the standard E-Type but upgraded front discs, with no servo, fitted to a double wishbone front and independent wishbone rear suspension. The rack-and-pinion steering is fitted to a wood rim in an interior swathed in period-correct Connolly leather under a standard aluminum hardtop. But with only six to be built, each one will be made to order - fully FIA certified for historic racing - at the new Jaguar Heritage workshop at the company's historic home at Browns Lane. The example pictured here, to bow in Monterey, is Car Zero that will be handed over to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust as part of its permanent collection.

Continue reading Lightweight E-Type to show historic side of Jaguar Special Operations in Monterey

Lightweight E-Type to show historic side of Jaguar Special Operations in Monterey originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jaguar to finish building six remaining Lightweight E-Types

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Jaguar Lightweight E-Type

Back in February of 1963, Jaguar set about making a small run of lightweight E-Types. It recrafted the bodywork out of aluminum, shoehorned in a 3.8-liter straight-six with an aluminum block, stripped out the interior, removed the chrome trim and fitted lighter-weight side windows. The result was a 250-pound reduction in curb weight and a commensurate increase in performance, especially evident on the race track. The company originally set about building 18 examples, but only managed 12. The remaining six were allocated chassis numbers, but were never built. That is, until now.

Fifty years since the last of the original 12 lightweight E-Types were completed, Jaguar has announced that it is preparing to resume production and complete the final six examples. The company has assigned its top craftsmen to the job, who will build the half-dozen continuation Lightweights to the same exact specifications as the original dozen. Former sister-company and perennial arch-rival Aston Martin undertook a similar task (or at least authorized Zagato to do so) when it sanctioned four continuation examples of the original DB4 GT Zagato based on original chassis numbers in 1988, and another two based on original body shells and stock DB4 chassis in 1992.

Jaguar has not yet announced pricing and availability for the continuation Lightweights, but the first old-is-new example is set to debut this summer, whereupon Coventry will release further details. You can bet, though, that each one will be snapped up rather quick at just about any price the British automaker cares to put on them.

Continue reading Jaguar to finish building six remaining Lightweight E-Types

Jaguar to finish building six remaining Lightweight E-Types originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 May 2014 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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