Peanut Gallery Reacts to Tesla-Swapped Jaguar Mark V

By John Coyle - November 24, 2021

SuperfastMatt’s Tesla-swapped Jaguar Mark V is on the road, and he just took it to a car show for the first time!

While I love Seattle, there are loads of things I miss about living in Los Angeles. Chief among them are the canyons of Malibu, the picture-perfect weather, and the ethereal restaurants of Koreatown. Of course, given my profession and love of all things automotive, I also miss the Petersen Automotive Museum. The exhibits — like the current Bond in Motion — are one thing, but the informal cruise ins are always a blast too. If you’re ever in La La Land toward the end of February, the Enzo Ferrari birthday celebration is not to be missed.

That said, the museum recently hosted an all-British event, which prompted SuperfastMatt to take his Tesla-swapped Jaguar Mark V over to the parking lot to show it off. Now, if for some reason you’ve missed this project, I highly recommend checking out his videos. Matt has true gift for breaking down super-complex engineering problems into layman speak, and he does it will a self-depreciating humor that’s really hard not to like. So even if you don’t love the idea of a classic Jaguar running electric power, you’ll likely get a kick out of his clips.

Unfortunately, when he first arrived at the show, his project was received about as well as a fork handles a microwave. The steward on hand at the gate stuck him and his car up on the very top level of the garage, well away from most of the action. Perhaps that was because it’s not currently rocking a hood, or any fenders, and it clearly isn’t running the straight-six Coventry originally fitted the Mark V with. Regardless, captain clipboard didn’t seem to appreciate all the effort that went into getting this old kitty back on the road, which makes me feel sorry for them.

As it turns out, however, most of the folks on hand seemed to dig the Mark V restomod, even if it’s a little ways from being all buttoned up. Along with fitting the remaining bodywork and cleaning up some of the sketchy-looking — but functional! — wiring inside the cabin, there are a few things Matt needs to do to make this baby into something that could be a daily driver. One of the most important is fitting it with some mirrors, as rear visibility is basically non-existent right now, and the lack of air conditioning makes sitting in LA’s famous traffic somewhat toasty. Check out the video below for an update on Matt’s progress, and also get a peek at some of the gorgeous kit that showed up for the event!

Photos: YouTube