Jaguar E-Type Series I restomod: A reborn Jaguar done right
Elon Musk didn’t like it. Nor did Nigel Farage. The Twitterer-in-Chief responded to Jaguar’s rebrand video by asking “Do you sell cars?”. And the MP for Clacton went further, declaring: “I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to.”
Loath as I am to agree with Nigel Farage about anything, his evocation of Jaguar’s glorious past – including the epochal E-Type – does strike a chord. Forget the androgynous models and vapid slogans, can the forthcoming electric Jaguars really Delete Ordinary and Create Exuberant (sorry) as the E-Type did back in 1961?
That question will be answered later this year, when we drive the production version of the Type 00 concept. For now, though, let’s hoist the Union Jack, apply a sepia-tint filter and enjoy the greatest Jaguar of them all. Or was it?
The E-Type unleashed
I’ll spare you the suspense: no. At least, not as a car to drive. The E-Type looked sensational and had a claimed top speed of 150mph, but it lacked the cosseting comfort of an XJ6 – or the agility of a classic Porsche 911. Later V12 versions in particular feel much happier on a boulevard than a B-road.
That’s where E-Type UK comes in. The Kent-based company has been selling, restoring and upgrading these sports cars since 2008, including its own range of ‘Unleashed’ restomods. This latest project is based on an E-Type Series I and billed as ‘the ultimate straight-six tourer’.
I’ll spare you the suspense again: this is the best E-Type I’ve driven. It’s how you imagine the car should feel: emphatically ‘classic’, but with performance, handling and build quality that, here and now in 2025, can finally live up to its looks.
Echoes of D-Type and XKSS
When I drove E-Type UK’s first Unleashed Series III roadster in 2021, the thing many people commented on were its ‘angel eye’ LED headlights. Car builders: you modernise a masterpiece at your peril.
This car is a less controversial, more respectful update. Its renewed British Racing Green paint and Suede Green leather match how it first left Coventry in 1967, while its Dunlop-style steel wheels and Blockley tyres also look period-correct. Further changes include removing the front bumper over-riders and chrome bar across the grille.
There are hints of the D-Type and XKSS race cars in its pared-back aesthetic, but nothing that would upset Jaguar purists (or perhaps our friend Nige). This is the E-Type at its beautiful best.
Sixties-look six appeal
Unlatch the Jaguar’s long, front hinged bonnet and it’s obvious that beauty is more than panel-deep. The spotless engine looks stock at first – complete with a dummy distributor cap and Jenvey heritage throttle bodies that resemble the factory-fit Weber carbs – but it can now out-muscle any 1960s supercar.
A rolling-road-verified 430hp and 390lb ft of torque comes from boring out the 4.2-litre inline six to 4.7 litres, then installing a twin-plug cylinder head, electronic fuel injection and a stainless steel exhaust with a six-branch manifold. Improved cooling, including an aluminium radiator, header tank and high-flow fan, helps to bolster reliability, too.
It’s all channeled to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox (the original had four speeds) and kept in-check by spanner-adjusted suspension and thicker anti-roll bars. E-Type UK’s own ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers provide the stopping power.
Inside the Jaguar E-Type
Inside, the ‘OEM+’ approach continues, with a racing-style ‘tell-tale’ rev counter, a smattering of extra gauges and a RetroSound head unit, which offers DAB radio and Bluetooth phone connectivity.
The 1960s racing buckets would originally have been bolted to the floor, but E-Type UK has fabricated seat custom runners to allow for adjustment. There’s also a leather-wrapped Moto-Lita steering wheel instead of the spindly wooden rim fitted by Jaguar.
Swinging your hips over the wide sill is awkward, the pedals are offset and the windscreen header rail bisects your vision if you are unusually tall. However, once you twist the dainty key and hear the straight-six settle to a potent purr, all that seems to melt away. Time for a drive…
The English Job
Being a US-export model (where it was marketed as the XK-E), this particular car is left-hand drive. On the narrow, hedge-lined lanes close to E-Type UK, that might be a cause for concern, but the Jaguar’s slim hips glide past oncoming SUVs. Cars of the 1960s just feel right-sized for British roads.
The day is grey but dry, so I’ve folded back the fabric roof – a process of releasing catches and metal poppers that takes about two minutes – to enjoy an authentic wind-in-the-hair sports car experience. Going al fresco also amplifies the cultured roar of the straight-six, which is punctuated by rasps from the upswept twin tailpipes. It sounds fabulous.
If you want to emulate one of the getaway ‘fast cars’ in The Italian Job, the E-Type will happily oblige. It pulls confidently from low revs, then piles on speed in a linear rush. The manual gear lever needs measured, deliberate inputs until the oil warms through, but then you can bang each ratio home like the fate of $4 million in gold bullion depends upon it. With your limbs busy and your brain engaged, it’s the antithesis of travelling in many modern cars.
Verdict: Series I restomod by E-Type UK
And that’s the point. E-Type UK has enhanced this Series I without making it feel too contemporary. The controls – including its power-assisted steering – still have some heft, the car leans when cornering and its wider, 205-section tyres provide modest grip. You must manage without electronic guardians such as stability control or anti-lock brakes, too. When people talk about ‘analogue’ cars, this is what they mean.
Such hand-crafted luxury doesn’t come cheap, of course. Reckon on upwards of £50,000 for a non-runner Series I donor car, then anything from £200,000 for the 4,000 hours of subsequent restoration and upgrade work. That is brand new supercar money, but what you get here is something unique and arguably more engaging – particularly at sensible speeds.
The E-Type’s owner plans to take it on adventurous road trips, rather than simply mothball it in a car collection, which is something we can all applaud. Deleting ordinary and creating exuberant? Yes, something like that.
PRICE: From £250,000
ENGINE SIZE: 4.7 litres
POWER: 430hp
TORQUE: 390lb ft
0-62MPH: 4.5sec (est.)
TOP SPEED: 150mph+
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research