Jaguar to build six new Lightweight E-Types.
Over 50 years ago, Jaguar started a unfinished project set out to build 18 ‘Special GT E-type Cars’ in order to homologate the car for GT racing. The manufactuer announced it will reproduce the ‘missing’ six Lightweights that were never built from the intended 18-car series.
Jaguar is to build six perfect reproductions of the original, race-bred Lightweight E-type that was created in 1963. The new cars are the ‘missing’ six vehicles from Jaguar’s Lightweight E-type project, which originally started in February 1963 with the objective of building 18 ‘Special GT E-type Cars’.
Only 12 of the aluminium bodied Lightweight E-types were eventually built, the last in 1964, the remaining six designated chassis numbers having lain dormant, until now.
The new cars will be hand-built in-house by Jaguar’s finest craftsmen. Each car will be constructed to the exact specifications of their original 1960s forebears – including the 3.8- litre straight-six engine.
The Lightweight carried approximately 114kg (250lb) less weight than a standard E-type, thanks to its all-aluminium body and engine block, a lack of interior trim and exterior chrome work and a host of further weight-saving features including lightweight, hand-operated side windows.
Jaguar expects a high demand for the six Lightweight E-types. Established Jaguar collectors, especially those with historic race car interests, will be prioritised amongst those potential customers who express interest, announced the car manufacturer.
The first new Lightweight E-type will make its public debut later this summer.
