The original Jaguar E-Type was in production from 1961 till 1975, a total of 14 years, at which time it was replaced by the somewhat controversially-styled Jaguar XJ-S.
The team at Eagle have been restoring and building bespoke E-Types for over 35 years now, over twice as long as Jaguar, and Eagle have no plans to stop – in fact they’ve just released a new E-Type that might be the best example of the model ever built.
The Eagle Lightweight GT is a car that actually contains very few parts that originated at Jaguar’s Browns Lane Factory. The engine is built entirely bespoke by Eagle, the body is all formed by hand from modern aluminum alloy by expert craftsmen who take over 2,500 hours to create all the required panels.
The above short film by Henry Catchpole and the team at Carfection does a remarkable job of introducing the Eagle Lightweight GT to the world, this is one car you really need to hear and see in motion to truly appreciate. The car is a fundamental re-imagining of the E-Type that keeps the spirit of the car very much alive but adds a no-holds-barred approach to the engineering process.
The Series 1 Jaguar E-Type is considered by many to be the most beautiful car ever made and so it takes a certain amount of gumption to improve on it, but the team at Eagle have been doing it successfully since 1984.
The new Eagle Lightweight GT is joining the Eagle Speedster, the Eagle Low Drag GT, and the Eagle Spyder GT in the company’s line up, alongside the more traditionally restored and subtly improved E-Types they also offer.
Eagle Lightweight GT Specifications
Engine: 4.7 litre, aluminium inline 6-cylinder
Cylinder Head: Big valve aluminium wide angle twin cam
Max Power: 380 bhp at 5,750 rpm
Max Torque: 375 lb ft at 4,000 rpm
Fuelling: Triple Weber carburettors
Transmission: Magnesium 5-speed gearbox, Magnesium Power Lock differential
Suspension: Independent wishbones with Öhlins adjustable dampers
Brakes: 315mm/280mm vented discs, AP Racing 4 pot callipers, servo assistance
Steering: Rack and pinion
Wheels: 7 x 16 front, 8 x 16 rear cast magnesium peg drive
Tires: 225/55 x 16 front, 235/60 x 16 rear
Weight: 1,017kg dry
Height: 1,170mm
Length: 4,260mm
Width: 1,740mm
0 – 60 mph: under 5 seconds
Top speed: 170mph plus
If you’d like to see more from Eagle or order your own car you can visit their website here.
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Images courtesy of Dean Smith ©2020 via Eagle
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
