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Written by Jason Barlow
"We future history." That"s the tagline used by JLR"s classic division, and an idea perfectly expressed by the Jaguar E-Type Zero. To put it another way, you"re looking at an E-Type EV.We know. Is nothing sacred? Widely regarded as the most beautiful car there"s ever been, surely internal combustion is as core to the E-Type"s entire reason for being as its famously seductive shape?On the other hand, there"s method in this particular madness. Firstly, Jaguar"s fast-growing classic division has managed to retrofit a 220kW electric powertrain into the E-Type"s chassis without getting busy with an angle-grinder the chassis is completely untouched, suspension, brakes and all. Secondly, because the 4.2-litre straight-six did service in virtually every Jaguar made from 1949 to 1992, this electric powertrain could theoretically be fitted to every one of those cars. Not only that, it can be unplugged again, and the original ICE hardware reinstalled. Just ponder the possibilities for a moment"It"s not unthinkable that a city like London could ban internal combustion vehicles at some point in the future," JLR Classic director Tim Hannig says. "The E-Type"s the most tightly packaged Jaguar, so we can convert any classic Jaguar into an EV. Not only that, but we know there"s an audience out there that is attracted to the style of a classic car, but doesn"t want the inconvenience that can sometimes come with it. We also understand it"s not for everyone, and the guys who crave originality might have issues with it. But we think this is a way of future-proofing classic car ownership. We"re showing it to some of our clients, and we"ll see what the market makes of the concept."
Date written: 7 Sep 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 9095
"We future history." That"s the tagline used by JLR"s classic division, and an idea perfectly expressed by the Jaguar E-Type Zero. To put it another way, you"re looking at an E-Type EV.We know. Is nothing sacred? Widely regarded as the most beautiful car there"s ever been, surely internal combustion is as core to the E-Type"s entire reason for being as its famously seductive shape?On the other hand, there"s method in this particular madness. Firstly, Jaguar"s fast-growing classic division has managed to retrofit a 220kW electric powertrain into the E-Type"s chassis without getting busy with an angle-grinder the chassis is completely untouched, suspension, brakes and all. Secondly, because the 4.2-litre straight-six did service in virtually every Jaguar made from 1949 to 1992, this electric powertrain could theoretically be fitted to every one of those cars. Not only that, it can be unplugged again, and the original ICE hardware reinstalled. Just ponder the possibilities for a moment"It"s not unthinkable that a city like London could ban internal combustion vehicles at some point in the future," JLR Classic director Tim Hannig says. "The E-Type"s the most tightly packaged Jaguar, so we can convert any classic Jaguar into an EV. Not only that, but we know there"s an audience out there that is attracted to the style of a classic car, but doesn"t want the inconvenience that can sometimes come with it. We also understand it"s not for everyone, and the guys who crave originality might have issues with it. But we think this is a way of future-proofing classic car ownership. We"re showing it to some of our clients, and we"ll see what the market makes of the concept."
Date written: 7 Sep 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 9095
