Jaguar E-Type Zero development “paused”
Jaguar has halted development of an electric conversion of one of the most beautiful cars of all time, the E-Type.
by William Stopford- shares
E-Type meets I-Pace? You wish.
According to Electrek, Jaguar is halting its plans to convert E-Types to electric propulsion to create the E-Type Zero.
Electrek obtained a copy of the letter Jaguar Land Rover Classic sent customers who expressed interest in the electrified E.
It reads, “I am contacting you as you were one of the first to express interest in the all-electric Jaguar E-type Zero. 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.”
No explanation has been given as to why development has been paused and if or when Jaguar Land Rover Classic will hit the play button.
The idea of the E-Type Zero was a refreshingly different one. Unlike Aston Martin and Bentley’s from-scratch heritage replicas or Morris’s EV homage to another classic Brit, Jaguar’s E-Type Zero was to be an electric resto-mod.
Buyers could either provide their own donor vehicle for powertrain conversion or let Jaguar Classic source a donor car to be rebuilt. The BYO price was quoted as £60,000 (A$114,274).
The E-Type Zero swapped out the original straight-six engine from under the bonnet and replaced it with a 40kWh battery pack, good for 220kW and a 0-100km/h time of 5.5 seconds. Behind that, where the E-Type’s transmission sat, engineers installed the electric motor and reduction gear transmission.
Perhaps surprisingly, the weight of all the electric hardware was virtually the same as that of the old engine. Total weight of the E-Type Zero was 46kg lighter than the original E-Type with few other changes made to the car beyond a modernised interior with a touchscreen.
Real world range was said to be 270km, though the E-Type Zero didn’t support fast charging as that would've required additional components and weight.
First revealed in 2017, an E-Type Zero was also used at the wedding of Prince Harry and the new Duchess of Sussex. Our Mike Duff enjoyed a brief, chaperoned drive of one last year, calling it an “impressively well-engineered thing”.
Alas, it appears the project has been scuttled, leaving Mike and Prince Harry as part of a very exclusive group of people who’ve had the chance to drive an E-Type Zero.
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Jaguar E-Type Zero development “paused”