“The most beautiful car ever made,” was how Enzo Ferrari described the Jaguar E-type soon after its unveiling in March 1961. This year, Jaguar celebrates the 60th anniversary of the legendary E-type with the distinctive F-Type Heritage 60 limited-edition. Just 60 examples of these all-wheel-drive sports cars with a 575 PS V8 Supercharged engine will be available for sale worldwide; each one hand-finished by the personalisation experts at SV Bespoke.
With a production run that lasted between 1961 and 1975, the Jaguar E-type defined the swinging 60s, and became the car of choice for the international jet-set, supermodels and rock stars alike. Its rare combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the E-Type as a style icon and a commercial success in equal measure.
Based on the Jaguar D-Type racing car, which had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for three consecutive years (1955-57), the E-Type could hit a top speed of around 240 kmph, and accelerate from 0-to-100 kmph in under seven seconds. Its unitary subframe construction, disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and independent front and rear suspension were all groundbreaking technologies back then.
Its endearing appeal ensures that the E-Type has consistently been a much sought after car among classic car enthusiasts. Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works, a JLR subsidiary, launched the E-type Reborn programme to restore the Series 1 E-types to their original specification. Last year, as part of the E-Type 60th anniversary commemoration, Jaguar Classic announced the E-type 60 Collection. It comprises six limited-edition matched pairs of restored 3.8-litre 1960s E-types as a tribute to two of the most famous examples: ‘9600 HP’ and ‘77 RW.’
Special Vehicle Operations, or SV Bespoke, is the specialist team at Jaguar. Its designers, engineers and technicians amplify the performance and luxury attributes of Jaguar vehicles. The current Jaguar SV’s range includes F-PACE SVR and XE SV Project 8. The team also works on one-off special commissions, limited-edition vehicles, SV Bespoke Premium Palette and SV Bespoke Match-To-Sample paint finishes. The F-Type Heritage 60 is the latest limited-edition offering by the SV team and features several commemorative specifications.
It has solid Sherwood Green paintwork, an original E-type colour that hasn’t been offered on a new Jaguar since the 1960s. It has extended duo-tone Caraway and Ebony Windsor leather interior trim which isn’t usually available on F-Type. It has a unique aluminium console finisher inspired by the E-type’s rear-view mirror casing.
The E-type 60th anniversary logo is embossed on the headrests of the lightweight Performance seats. This logo is shared with the limited-edition E-type 60 Collection vehicles announced by Jaguar Classic last year. Commemorative treadplates, an SV Bespoke commissioning plaque and Caraway-edged carpet mats are some of the other finishing touches.
Mark Turner, Commercial Director, Jaguar SV Bespoke, said: “Celebrating 60 years of the iconic Jaguar E-type is the perfect moment to create our first-ever SV Bespoke limited edition – and the rarest F-Type, with just 60 cars available globally. We’ve worked closely with Jaguar Design to develop a theme for the F-Type Heritage 60 Edition that pays homage to the E-type in a contemporary way. It’s testament to Jaguar’s sports car design lineage that the 1960s Sherwood Green colour looks as though it was designed for today’s F-Type.”
The F-Type Heritage 60 Edition is based on the F-Type R launched in December 2019. The Heritage 60 Edition is available in both Coupé and Convertible body styles.
Both come with exclusive 20-inch diamond-turned gloss black forged alloy wheels, gloss black and chrome exterior accents and black brake callipers. The exclusively all-wheel-drive car features revised dampers, anti-roll bars and rear suspension knuckles for heightened driver engagement.
The F-Type is powered by Jaguar’s 575PS supercharged V8, which produces 700Nm of torque for exhilarating pace in all conditions. It can sprint from 0-to-100 kmph in just 3.5 seconds, to an electronically-limited maximum speed of 300 kmph. The F-Type also comes with a suite of advanced driver-focused technologies as standard. These include a reconfigurable, high-definition, 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster, Touch Pro Infotainment system and Smartphone Pack with Apple CarPlay.
Each Heritage 60 Edition is built at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant in the UK and finished by the SV Bespoke team at Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations in Warwickshire.
Clare Hansen, Director of Vehicle Personalisation, Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations, said: “The F-Type Heritage 60 Edition is a fantastic example of what the SV Bespoke team is capable of. Marrying E-type inspired detailing with new F-Type gave us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the heritage of Jaguar’s legendary sports cars. With unrivalled access to original drawings, paint codes and reference materials, working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at Jaguar Classic, we’ve created a distinctive and highly collectable interpretation of the definitive Jaguar sports car.”
