Jaguar Land Rover recently announced its commitment to produce both hybrid and fully-electric versions of every car in its range by 2020.
In addition to the announcement the company said it had something special to unveil.
It wasn’t wrong. It’s called the E-Type Zero and it’s a fully-electric version of the iconic car that Enzo Ferrari once called “the most beautiful car ever made”.
Created by Jaguar Land Rover’s Classic department, this isn’t just a simple case of replacing one engine for another.
Instead the team have re-imagined the E-Type from the ground up while maintaining the iconic chassis that earned its place in the heart of just about every petrolhead in the world.
The E-Type Zero has a custom-built 220kW electric powetrain that can speed the car from 0-60mph in about 5.5 seconds.
Despite its performance roots the E-Type actually has a longer range than the newly unveiled Nissan Leaf electric car. Jaguar Land Rover say the E-Type Zero has a ‘real world’ range of 170 miles, and can be charged full in between 6-7 hours.
To help lower the car’s power usage the team also switched to state-of-the-art LED headlamps and rear-lights.
If that wasn’t enough the company have completely re-designed the car’s interior blending the iconic wooden steering wheel with a completely digital dashboard and speedometer.
Now for the good news. This isn’t just a concept, it’s a real working product that Jaguar Land Rover are currently showing off at their Tech Fest which opens to the public on the 8 September.
The even better news is that this might not be a one-off either, with Tim Hannig, the director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic confirming that they would be looking into possibly selling the E-Type Zero either as an upgrade for existing models or as a stand-alone car to be bought.
“Our aim with E-type Zero is to future-proof classic car ownership. We’re looking forward to the reaction of our clients as we investigate bringing this concept to market.” says Hannig.
While the E-Type Zero might be financially out of reach for most of us, the role it can play in helping increase the visibility around electric cars is undeniable, especially with the UK’s new plans to phase out all petrol and diesel cars by 2040.