The general rule is it’s considered uncouth to upstage the bride and groom at their own wedding. But when it’s the iconic Jaguar E-Type we’re talking about, even royalty can make an exception. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s electrified matrimonial Jaguar E-Type Zero sparked such great interest with its appearance at the conclusion of the Royal Wedding this past May, the British luxury automotive manufacturer decided to turn a one-off fairytale into the reality of a production vehicle.
The Jaguar E-type Zero concept held court at Monterey Car Week’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, showing off its orange clad block of batteries underneath a tastefully painted Bespoke Bronze hood.
Though our own interest in the royal wedding itself was admittedly tepid at best, word of their one-of-kind electrified rendition of the iconic monocoque 1968 British sports car being duplicated for production definitely ignited an audible amount of approval and wide-eyed interest with its announcement and appearance at the exclusive The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering during this past week’s Monterey Car Week.
Here again was the epitome of the brand’s embodiment of “grace, space, and pace” philosophy, this time graced in Bespoke Bronze finish and fitted with an electric powertrain with single-speed reduction gear capable of moving the elegant bullet from 0-62mph in just 5.5 seconds and with a range in “excess of 170 miles”. Jaguar seems to have found a commendable balance of respecting the past by leaving the exterior perceptibly unchanged, while tastefully updating the interior with carbon fiber detailing and digital instrumentation/infotainment.
Though we weren’t afforded an opportunity to drive this sole iteration of the electrified E-Type, we were given ample time to drive its modern kin, Jaguar’s all-electric I-PACE SUV, the first production all-electric vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover. The E-type Zero shares many components with the I-PACE, most notably the snap back thrill of instant acceleration produced by an electric powertrain powered by a 40-kilowatt-hour battery. Expect the ride and handling to be even more thrilling in an E-type Zero incarnation.
Besides LED headlights, the Jaguar E-type Zero looks almost identical to its historical predecessor from the exterior. Peer into its aluminum clad interior, and driver and passenger are offered a modernized instrumentation and fascia with touchscreen infotainment controls clearly indicating the vehicle’s v. 2.0 upgrades.
The E-Type requires between six to seven hours to recharge its a 170+ miles range battery.
Tesla Motors Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen described the original Jaguar E-Type as a “cat that was kind of launching in attack mode…a car [that] still demands a presence on the road today.”
The Jaguar E-Type has long carried bona fides as “the most beautiful car in the world” (attributed to Enzo Ferrari from a 1964 interview with Classic Car Review), one of only six automotive designs deemed worthy of inclusion in New York’s Museum of Modern Art permanent collection. The decision to integrate zero-emissions tech while leaving the model’s sleek feline silhouette untouched seems prudent considering the risks associating with messing with such an iconic design. Jaguar assures us this updated roadster will “drive, handle, ride and brake like the original E-type, with its front-rear weight distribution unchanged”, a symbolic spearhead designed to acknowledge the past, while point toward the luxury manufacturers plans for an electric powered future.
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