If we’re going to go for electric cars in a big way, they’ll need to offer more than the admittedly powerful draws of zero emissions and negligible running costs. For a start, they’ll need to look less gawpy than some EVs have been.
Cars like this one-off electrically-powered Jaguar E-Type may have a part to play in glamourising EVs.
Named Concept Zero, it’s been put together by Jaguar Land Rover’s heritage division JLR Classic. Parked in the street, it’s pure E-Type. Only when the driver gets in and starts it – or rather, doesn’t – is the game given away. The E’s conventional XK six-cylinder petrol engine has been removed and replaced by a 295bhp electric motor and a 170-mile battery.
18 months in gestation, the ‘EV Type’ was originally referred to as Project Marmite by its creator, JLR Classic’s chief Tim Hannig. As a classic car lover and collector himself, Tim was only too aware of the outrage such a project might spark up. But his concerns about that were outweighed by his certainty about a future containing big zero-emissions cities and the rise of a new breed of enthusiasts who will want classic motoring “without the oil leaks”.
To pacify the purists, the conversion is reversible. All the mechanical parts from the original car are kept so that an owner can transform any E back to its original specification.
Under that iconic bonnet, the battery goes where the heavy old iron-block engine used to be, while the gearbox space is now occupied by the new drive motor and single-speed reduction gearbox. The inverter and power electronics go in the boot. In the cabin, a rotary controller from a modern Jaguar selects forward or reverse. There’s no clutch.
The electrical conversion delivers a 46kg weight saving over the old petrol car, and very similar performance figures too. 0-60mph in 5.5sec and a 150mph top speed are pretty much bang on those of the first 1961 E-Type.
We didn’t get anywhere near that on our brief foray along a closed suburban London road with Concept Zero project manager Stewart Bramham behind the wheel. It was 40mph tops, but that was enough to feel the electric thrust and hear the distant jet turbine whine of the motor and gearbox. The rest of the experience was pure E-Type: the same kerb-height seating, enveloping sills, proboscis and rustling wind over the screen top.
So, how much does a restored electric E-Type cost? Well, it wouldn’t be cheap. Hannig mentions a figure “north of £300,000”.
Whatever the final figure might be, JLR has already plenty of inquiries from potential buyers. When the number reaches critical mass, Hannig will confirm production. There’s already a plan to redesign many of these powertrain components to make them smaller, allowing the conversion to work – theoretically at least – on most Jaguar classics.
