Jaguar has celebrated 50 years of the Jaguar E-Type while at the Geneva Motor Show. The automaker hosted E-Type drives at the Parc des Eaux Vives in Geneva, where the original car was launched by the founder Sir William Lyons 50 years ago.
Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum said: “It is impossible to overstate the impact the E-Type had, here was a car that encapsulated the spirit of the revolutionary era it came to symbolize. We’re looking forward to celebrating achievement and looking forward with our all-new sports cars in Geneva.”
Exactly 50 years after the original coupe was launched Swedish designer Bo Zolland, has produced an updated copy based on the XKR. The design is said to go into production soon by the production house Classic Factory. Vizualtech is set to make its 5.0-litre V8 car, and aims to have it ready for delivery to its first customer by next summer.
Power will come from the same 5.0-litre V8 as in the XKR, with a small upgrade taking the power from 503bhp to 592bhp. The chassis will have carbon fibre elements to make it 200kg lighter than the car it is based on. The increase in power and reduced weight results in improved handling performance and top end speed.
“The interior design will be just as striking as the exterior. The first car will be ready next year if planning goes as expected” said a Classic Factory spokesman and even though much of the switchgear is taken from the XKR, the layout will be very different.
“If demand is overwhelming, we might contract specialists such as Magna Steyr in Austria or Valmet in Finland” said Classic Factory.
It will not be a large scale production car, each one will take around six months to build, and the company is not intending to make more than three or four at a time. The first hand built cars will cost from £640,000-£850,000 although prices could drop if the numbers built increase, a figure around £430,000 is expected.
