Fifty years after the last Lightweight E-Type was completed, Jaguar will be building six new Lightweight E-Types to complete the total 18 examples that were initially intended to be built by the British car maker. Jaguar will produce six brand new Lightweight E-Types that will be identical to their original counterparts built during the period of 1963-64. Keeping up with the original specifications of the Lightweight E-Type, Jaguar will be using its finest craftsmen to build the all aluminium body, and will use a 3.8-litre straight-six engine to stay true to the original.
Only 12 out of the 18 aluminium Lightweight E-Types were actually built back then, while the remaining six designated chassis numbers were reserved and left unused. The new E-Types will get the original chassis numbers, completing the entire production line-up, five decades later. The original Jaguar Lightweight E-Type was part of extensive weight saving measures thanks to the all aluminium body and engine block, stripped out interior with hand-operated side windows and the removal of chrome bumpers and trim found on the standard E-Type models.
The result was a difference of 114 kgs of weight saving over the standard model, thus receiving the ‘Lightweight’ moniker. Jaguar expects a high demand for the six Lightweight E-types, especially among collectors and race car fanatics. Customers will also be given the option to personalize their cars with additional features to make them more user friendly compared to the 50 year old models. While Jaguar hasn’t released an estimated price on the new Lightweight E-Types, the original models fetch in excess of 5 million Pounds (Rs. 49.85 crores) at auctions.
The original E-Type was built between 1961 and 1975 with over 72,599 units produced. The twelve Lightweight E-Types were built in 1963 by Jaguar’s competition department and were homologated for GT competition, designated as standard roadster E-Type fitted with a number of options. Out of the 12 originally built, only 11 survive today. All the chassis numbers for the 18 examples carried an ‘S’ prefix.
