This one-off, 4.7-litre Jaguar E-Type gets a never-before-seen engine setup

A British tuner of old Jaguars has revealed a rather special old Jaguar: this is E-Type UK’s, um, E-Type. Roadster. And while E-Type’s E-Type comes with all the trappings one would expect of a restored E-Type, there are a couple of interesting upgrades to this E-Type.

Notably, the upgraded straight-six, enlarged from Jaguar’s original 4.2-litre specification to 4.7-litres. That’s allied to E-Type UK’s specially adapted ‘twin-spark’ cylinder head (“never commercially seen on an E-Type in the UK”, said… E-Type UK), and a bespoke electronic fuel injection system.

The twin-spark bit refers of course to a pair of spark plugs per cylinder as opposed to one lonely plug, “optimising combustion efficiency, enhancing both power delivery and responsiveness”.

The new ECU improves the engine’s consistency (as does a new rad and oil cooler), while a new, bespoke stainless steel exhaust system improves its ‘roar’. A roar “infused with a hardened competition edge”. Hardened competition edges are TopGear.com’s favoured infusions.

Especially when there's 430bhp and 390lb ft being vigorously infused into the rear axle. Expect something like 0-60mph in 4.5s and 160mph+ flat out. It’s delivered to that rear axle via a new five-speed manual, impeded by four-pot calipers over vented discs, and managed by fully adjustable front suspension, performance anti-roll bars and torsion bars. It’s what E-Type UK calls a ‘fast-road’… E-Type.

Jaguar E-Type Zero review: classic EV's first test

Naturally attention has been lavished on the looks, because it’s an E-Type, so you have to. Green over green, with additional chrome and lightweight Dunlop wheels on the outside, and lightweight buckets, a new steering wheel, all the dials and readouts you need, plus better audio on the inside.

E-Type UK said this E-Type took some 3,500 hours to restore, and unsurprisingly it is ‘delighted’ with the result. As you will be, too. “We’ve built this car for a customer who desired a bespoke E-Type that combined subtly enhanced looks with a dash of Jaguar motorsport heritage, and most importantly, modernised performance,” said E-Type UK MD Marcus Holland.