Following the success of other English continuation cars, Jaguar has announced its next, highly bespoke continuation project: the C-Type. Famed for its victories at Le Mans in the early 1950s, Jaguar will be building a number of new cars almost exactly to 1953 spec. That year, it shattered the Le Mans record and became the first car ever to average a speed of more than 100 mph at the race thanks to innovations like its disc brakes. Designed by the legendary Malcolm Sayer, Jaguar will work with traditional materials and use traditional techniques to ensure the highest degree of authenticity. Hand-built in Coventry, the craftspeople making these continuation cars when to great lengths to ensure exquisite exactitude.
For example, when production began, just one period-correct Lucas rear-view mirror was available around the world, but Jaguar Classic combed the planet to find enough for these continuation cars. Such was Jaguar’s attention to detail, that even the extraneous brackets on the brake fluid reservoir, designed for their application in another car and serving no purpose on the C-Type, have been replicated on the continuation car.
Powering the C-Type is a hand-built 3.4-liter straight-six engine with triple Weber carburetors, air to which is fed by a scoop in the hood that marks the car out as a 1953 model. Each engine takes Jaguar’s craftspeople nine months to build, but the result is 220 hp. It’s not all 100% authentic, though. The C-Type continuation has been modified lightly to help it comply with FIA safety regulations. That means things like racing harnesses and rollover protection, which will be useful if you plan to race in any of several series (such as the Jaguar Classic Challenge) that the car is eligible for.
Available in eight interior colors and 12 exterior colors, including Suede Green, Cream, Pastel Blue, and British Racing Green, owners can opt for roundels and other design flourishes to help them better live out their vintage racing fantasy. Jaguar has revealed neither the price of the car nor how many exactly it will build, saying only that the run of continuation cars will be limited. We would expect the first number to be very large and the second number to be very small, though, given the amount of work that has gone into replicating the allure of the original C-Type.
The car will be officially unveiled to the public at the annual Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, England from September 3-5. It expects to finish the cars in time for a racing-inspired celebration event for the owners of the cars in 2022.
