There are Options to ‘Future Proof’ Your Jaguar E-Type

By John Coyle - June 21, 2021

You might think electrifying a classic E-Type would be expensive — and you’d be 100% right about that.

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with amazing electric restomods that Lunaz Design has been cranking out, and I’ve also been religiously following SuperfastMatt’s Tesla-swapped Jaguar Mark V project. Because while I love the sound of internal combustion engines, and truly appreciate the smell of gasoline, the idea of turning classic cars into reliable green machines is something I’ve been thinking about forever. Honestly, I love the idea of stopping most modern car production, and putting those formidable resources toward electrifying old hardware. Seriously, wouldn’t it be cool if our roads looked like the ones in Gattaca?

That said, I don’t have the coin to splurge on a Lunaz-built XK120, and I don’t have anywhere near the technical skills of someone like SuperfastMatt. So I got to wondering exactly what kind of options were out there for shade tree mechanics who want to switch their Jaguars over to electric power. At this point, I know that plug-and-play kits — think electric versions GM’s Connect & Cruise — are in the works, but I was wondering if there were off the shelf kits for the E-Type. And it turns out there are!

The most affordable option I found was from a company called EV Europe, which offers a bolt-in package for the iconic sports coupe. Of course, where we’re talking about projects like this, “affordable” is kind of a relative term. Because once you add the motor, throttle controls, gearbox adapter, and batteries to your cart, you’re looking at a cost of over $36,000 — and that doesn’t include shipping or installation. There weren’t any images of completed cars on the site either, which raised a red flag for me. Obviously, your mileage may vary.

The most comprehensive kit I found was from Lanes Cars in the United Kingdom. Like the one from EV Europe, it’s fully reversible, and they also provide more details about the finished product, and promise a range of 250 miles, which seems fine for a classic sports car. Overall, the images were all pretty potato quality, even if the kit itself looks pretty trick. Unfortunately, this set up will run you north of $150,000, and that doesn’t even include the cost of the car.

I’m going to keep looking around, but let me know if you happen to know about any other similar kits, or better still, if you’re working on your own EV project. I’d love to write it up!

Photos: Lanes Cars