Electric Jaguar E-Type
Jaguar's own battery-powered E-Type, the E-Type Zero of 2017, which carried a royal couple in 2018; the production version Jaguar offered in 2018 and paused in 2019; and the conversions other firms sell.
About the pictureA privately converted battery-powered E-Type at the RAC Future Car Challenge, 2011; not Jaguar's E-Type Zero.
The E-Type Zero
Jaguar Land Rover Classic, the company's department for its older cars, showed the E-Type Zero in London in September 2017, at the Jaguar Land Rover Tech Fest at Central Saint Martins: to the press on 7 September and to the public from the next day. Under the skin it was a restored roadster that Jaguar described as a "Series 1.5", the open-headlamp car of 1968, built at Jaguar's Classic Works near Coventry. Jaguar said the car was original in specification except for its powertrain and its modified instruments and facia, which were digital, in a panel styled on the original; the LED headlamps were styled after the Series 1's. The charging socket sat where the fuel filler had been.
The battery pack took the place of the XK engine and was, by Jaguar's account, of much the same size and weight; the electric motor sat where the gearbox (transmission) had been, with a new propeller shaft to the original differential. The suspension and brakes were unchanged. These are Jaguar's own figures for the car:
- Battery
- 40 kWhlithium-ion, in the engine's place
- Range
- 270 kmabout 170 miles, Jaguar's "real world" claim
- Recharge
- 6–7 hoursat home, overnight
- Weight saved
- 46 kgagainst the petrol (gas) car
Jaguar also said it would reach 100 km/h (62 mph) about a second sooner than a Series 1.
Tim Hannig, the director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said the power had been limited to suit the original chassis, and he made one point above all:
We have integrated the new electric powertrain into the existing E‑type structure, which means a conventional engine could be reinstalled at any point. We think this is essential as it ensures a period Jaguar remains authentic to its DNA.
Jaguar launched it as "the most beautiful electric car in the world", a slogan built on a remark attributed to Enzo Ferrari; Jaguar E-Type in Popular Culture looks at what is known of that remark.source 4source 2source 1source 5
Jaguar's offer, and the pause
On 23 August 2018, during Monterey Car Week in California, Jaguar announced that it would build electric E-Types to order, Jalopnik reported: restored cars converted by Jaguar Classic, and conversions offered to owners of existing E-Types, using parts from the I-Pace. The range was to be "in excess of" 170 miles, and evo reported that deliveries were expected in the summer of 2020. Jaguar took expressions of interest and published no price at the announcement.
Jaguar paused it 15 months later. Late in November 2019, Jaguar Land Rover Classic wrote to those who had registered interest. The Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club quoted the letter:
It is with regret that I inform you that we have taken a difficult decision to pause the development of the production vehicle for the time being.
Jaguar told The Sunday Telegraph that the car was "not a priority in the current global commercial climate", Motoring Research reported. No later Jaguar statement was found in the sources read.
Other electric E-Types
Other firms have gone on converting E-Types. Electrogenic, in Oxford, sells reversible "drop-in" kits for all three series, fitted by partner workshops, with the batteries where the engine, fuel tank and spare wheel were and the gearbox taken out. These are the maker's own figures for its kits:
| Kit | Battery | Motor | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| E43 | 43 kWh | 120 kW | about 240 km (150 miles) |
| E48s | 48 kWh | 150 kW | about 260 km (160 miles) |
| E62 | 62 kWh | 120 kW | about 320 km (200 miles) |
Its first E-Type offer, reported by Motoring Research in June 2021, came in three versions, one of them keeping the original gearbox.
In the United States, ECD Automotive Design of Kissimmee, Florida, announced electric E-Types in June 2022, with a Tesla motor and a battery pack it expected to give 290–320 km (180–200 miles), Electrek reported. Electric E-Types are rebuilt cars, not new ones; Jaguar E-Type Restomod covers the other kinds of modern rebuild.source 10source 11source 12
Sources
Sources are given as plain text; their addresses are on the sources page.
- Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
- Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
- Thom Leavy, "This car stole the show at the royal wedding", CBS News, 21 May 2018, the departure from Windsor Castle; the 1968 roadster; the acceleration. Reference
- Matteo Milani, "Jaguar E-type Zero: sfilata elettrica per Harry e Meghan al Royal Wedding", HDmotori.it, 21 May 2018, Frogmore House; the instruments and the charging socket. Reference
- Tiffany Foresi, "You could drive the same car as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex", Royal Central, 26 Aug 2018, the evening reception at Frogmore House; Jaguar's statement, August 2018. Reference
- Jaguar Land Rover (Jaguar media newsroom), "Jaguar E-type Zero – 'The Most Beautiful Electric Car in the World'" (press release), 7 Sep 2017, the release: the base car, the powertrain, the figures, Tim Hannig's words and the headline. Primary
- Jaguar Land Rover (Jaguar media newsroom), "Jaguar Classic to Launch E-type Reborn at Techno-Classica Essen Show" (press release), 31 Mar 2017, dateline: Classic Works, Ryton-on-Dunsmore. Primary
- Justin T. Westbrook, "The Best Part About The New Electric Jaguar E-Type Conversions Is That It's Completely Reversible", Jalopnik, 23 Aug 2018, the announcement of 23 August 2018. Reference
- Will Beaumont, "Jaguar to convert E-Type into fully electric classics", evo, 24 Aug 2018, the terms: expressions of interest, conversions, deliveries. Reference
- Wayne Scott, "Jaguar has pulled the plug on the E Type Zero", Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club (jec.org.uk), 6 Dec 2019, Jaguar Land Rover Classic's letter, as quoted. Reference
- Richard Aucock, "Jaguar pauses electric E-type Zero", Motoring Research, 2 Dec 2019, Jaguar's statement, via *The Sunday Telegraph*. Reference
- Electrogenic, "Jaguar E-Type Conversion Kit" (Electric E-Type Conversion Kit Specification), the kit specification. Primary
- Daniel Puddicombe, "Electric Jaguar E-Type offers up to 402hp", Motoring Research, 24 Jun 2021, the first offer, June 2021. Reference
- Scooter Doll, "We visited ECD Automotive's new facility where it's building electric Jaguar E-Types with Tesla motors", Electrek, 31 Oct 2022, ECD Automotive Design's electric E-Types. Reference