It was somewhat inevitable, really. Following the Lightweight E-Type, XKSS and D-Type, Jaguar Classic has turned its Continuation ambitions to the C-Type. Marking 70 years since the car made its debut, Jaguar will build eight new examples during 2021, all to the specification of the 1953 Le Mans-winning C-Type.
Which, however unoriginal the idea may now seem, is quite the setup. All the original 43 C-Type road cars used drums instead of the disc brakes which made the race car so famous, and only made around 200hp with twin SU carbs fuelling the XK straight-six. Not so for the reimagined series: it's disc brakes and triple Webers, as per the 1953 Le Mans-winning cars, meaning around 220hp from the 3.4-litre engine.
To build "the most authentic new C-Type possible", an original was scanned by the Classic team and the build archives forensically studied to make the latest cars accurate on every detail. In fact, the scanning work was so in depth this time around that prospective customers (and those bored on another work Zoom call) will have access to a C-Type configurator. There will be 12 exterior paints and eight interior colours on offer, with extra options for racing stickers and additional badging. Expect many a tea break to be spent on that - see it here.
As for the rest of the package, it's as we've come to expect from Jaguar Classic builds - the C-Type remains a stunningly beautiful sports car, now with modern-day nous applied to its construction. "Jaguar Classic is proud to be able to utilise the latest innovations in manufacturing technology - alongside traditional skills and unrivalled expertise - to reintroduce this legendary car for a new generation of enthusiasts to enjoy", is how the division's director Dan Pink puts it - a prospect that's hard to pick much fault with.
They really do mean enjoy it, too, as all of the C-Type octet will come with an FIA-approved Harness Retention System or rollover protection. Jaguar says that the new Cs "will be eligible for historic racing, track and closed-road use." Clearly, the lack of road suitability might be a mild irritant to some, though it's likely the collection will have all manner of alternatives for those in the position to buy one of Jaguar Classic's latest. A price for the C-Type hasn't yet been released, but given previous continuations have cost in excess of a million quid it's probably safe to assume they will be in the same ballpark.
Which is normally when a car like the Proteus C-Type would be mentioned; a lot less expensive (in the grand scheme of things), road legal and faithful to the original, it's where the wealthy rather than the obscenely rich could get their C-Type kicks. Well, potentially not any longer. A release was issued alongside the car announcement to confirm that Jaguar Land Rover has won a copyright protection case for the C-Type. It reads: "The Intellectual Property Division of the High Court in Sweden has ruled in Jaguar Land Rover's favour in a case that the OEM brought against a company manufacturing C-type replica vehicles. The court found that the copyright in the external shape of the Jaguar C-type was infringed by a car being built by the defendants, the first of a number that they planned to build and sell."
The statement continues: "In finding that the copyright in the C-type had been infringed by the defendants, the court found in favour of Jaguar Land Rover on all the issues in the case. It ordered the defendants to stop manufacturing C-type copies and awarded Jaguar Land Rover all its legal costs."
As for the official continuation cars, Jaguar promises that all eight will be ready for a "racing-inspired celebration even for their owners in 2022." By that time, it'll be 70 years since the C-Type won the Reims Grand Prix (the first for a disc-braked car), so don't be surprised to see all of them heading down to France some point next summer. Or maybe they'll be at Le Mans...
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