A Modern Interpretation of the Original Lightweights
The Jaguar E-Type is one of those cars that’s pretty much universally loved by car enthusiasts. Often called the most beautiful car ever created, the E-Type holds a special place in people’s hearts and that’s why when the company Eagle—a Jaguar E-Type restoration company—revealed its new Lightweight GT, a lot of people got really excited.
Jaguar first built Lightweight E-Types in the 1960s and this new Lightweight GT is a homage and modern interpretation to those cars. Eagle takes a Series I E-Type and strips it down to its bare essentials. The company takes the floor pan, pedal mountings, and rear bulkhead and modifies them to lower gravity, increase space, and improve safety, according to Road & Track.
From there, each body panel of the car is replaced with lighter weight aluminum. The side sills and rear ramp angles are altered, and the wheel wells enlarged for larger versions of the original wheels. The rake for the front and rear windscreens are also increased.
When it comes to power, Eagle fits a 4.7-liter version of Jaguar’s XK straight-six engine. The engine is made of aluminum and offers unique internals. This means it can put out 385 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque. That might not seem like much, but the car only weighs 2,242 pounds. Also, there’s a five-speed synchromesh manual gearbox that allows you to control the power sent to the rear wheels. Each one takes over 8000 hours to produce. Pricing has not been announced at this time.