The Jaguar E-type Zero Is an All-Electric Retro-Futurist Masterpiece

Cenk Papila September 7, 2017

You’re looking at what Enzo Ferrari once called “the most beautiful car in the world,” only now it’s equipped with a bespoke all-electric power train. Dubbed the E-type Zero, this Jaguar’s aim is to bring classic design into the 21^st century and “future-proof” classic car ownership, according to Tim Hannig, Director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

Set to debut this week at the Jaguar Land Rover Tech Fest alongside the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE At Central Saint Martins in London, the E-type Zero is a restored Series 1.5 Roadster. Everything is exactly as it originally was except, of course, for the all-new power train and LED headlights — because efficiency, duh.

The Zero has a “real world” range of 270 km and relies on a 40 kWh battery, which can be recharged at home. Depending on the power source that process can take somewhere between six to seven hours, ideally overnight.

You might assume a car from the 1960s fitted with an electric power train would be lacking in performance, but boy, would you be wrong: 0-100 km/h acceleration in this thing takes only 5.5 seconds — that’s quicker than the original Series 1 E-type.

While there are no firm plans to take this concept into production, Jaguar Land Rover says it’s going to “investigate brining this concept to market.” Sounds promising to us.