Jaguar

Jaguar

Jaguar

Jaguar

Jaguar

Jaguar

It must be restomod Friday or something. You may remember that last year Jaguar revealed it had created an electric powertrain conversion for the E-Type. Or perhaps you watched the royal wedding earlier this summer and noticed that the happy couple drove off into the sunset in that same electric E-Type. Well, now Jaguar has announced that the E-Type Zero is a concept no more: it will offer the (fully reversible) conversion to the rest of us.

Out goes the XKE straight-six engine, along with the fuel tank and gearbox. In its place is an electric motor that shares many components with the new Jaguar I-Pace, a single-speed reduction gearbox, and a 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack that is about the same size and weight as the absent engine. Which means that the weight and balance of the now-electric E-Type should be the same as it was before it underwent such radical surgery. However the electric car will actually have better performance than a Series 1 E-Type. Range is 170 miles between charges.

Should you so desire, Jaguar will also drop in the touchscreen infotainment system from the E-Type Zero concept as well as LED headlights. And crucially, the entire replacement powertrain is fully reversible. Deliveries are slated to begin in the summer of 2020, but the full technical specs as well as that oh-so-important price tag are yet to be announced.

And since the XKE engine was common to many Jaguars of old, it should theoretically be possible to persuade Jaguar to electrify one of its other classic models. I know I caught flak from some for saying this last time, but my view hasn't changed: an electric C-Type or D-Type might just be my ultimate good-weather runabout. Now if only I could win the lottery to make that happen…

Listing image by Jaguar