Here’s Your Chance to Grab a ‘Brand-New’ Jaguar C-Type
Legendary race team Ecurie Ecosse will craft continuation cars to honor the iconic Jaguar C-Type.
During the 1950s, Jaguar wasn’t alone in bringing its racing cars to the big show at Le Mans. Along with the factory efforts, proud privateer teams went to France to challenge titans like Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Maserati — and Ecurie Ecosse was one of the best. The Scottish team took the checked flag at the 1956 and 1957 runnings of the grueling 24-hour contest, and now, it’s creating rolling tributes to some of the machines it campaigned during the golden age of motorsport.
Race fans will note that when team founder David Murray went to victory lane, he was behind the wheel of the C-Type’s younger sibling, the D-Type. But since Jaguar has already mined that territory with its own line of continuation cars, Ecurie Ecosse is now offering its take on its equally gorgeous predecessor. For the record, I’m not exactly why this is being billed as a continuation car. Because from where I’m sitting, a car without provenance from the factory, or claim to an original VIN, is just a replica — regardless of how expensive or beautiful it might be.
That said? What to actually call these cars is — at least in my opinion — all fussy semantics. Because the pictures are stunning, and each is sure to be a work of art.
Production will be capped at just seven cars, and each will feature the brilliant blue of the team’s famous racers. While each will be powered by a tuned version of Jaguar’s venerable XK straight-six, they’ll also get modern braking and suspension bits, along with a five-speed gearbox. An updated version of the tube chassis means the cars will also be slightly wider than the famous racers.
Performance-wise, Ecurie Ecosse says the sprint to 60 will take 5.2 seconds, and that the top speed will be over 150mph. Now, while those numbers might not sound wild given how crazy capable modern sports cars are? In this package, they sound incredible.
No pricing has been announced regarding Ecurie Ecosse’s hand-built tributes. But given that Coventry only built 53 C-Types, they’re sure to be cheaper than the originals. For a taste of just how magnificent the C-Type is, and to get a rough idea of exactly just how thrilling it must be to pilot one, check out the video of Alex Buncombe driving Juan Manuel Fangio’s car at the 2006 Monaco Historic. The visuals are stunning, and there’s no crappy music to ruin the soundtrack of a 3.4-liter twin cam.
Photos: Ecurie Ecosse