It’s enough to make you splutter your G&T all over your newspaper; a fully-electric version of a classic Jaguar E-Type? I say! Still, the lack of engine noise will make shouting a jaunty “Hello!” at pretty ladies from within the Jag all the easier, what!
Jaguar Land Rover Classic (the team of craftspeople charged with bringing models from JLR’s storied past back to life through intensive restoration to microscopically-exacting detail) has rebuilt a 1968 Series 1.5 E-Type roadster in the form of that most zeitgeist-ish of personal transportation; a zero emissions electric car.
Rather than some creaky old classic with a few batteries under the floorboards, the E-Type Zero is apparently loaded with cutting-edge ‘leccy tech that will enable it to silently sprint from standing to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds.
It also boasts a ‘real world’ range of 270km from its 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Peak power output translates to 220kW in new money.
Apart from the powertrain, energy-efficient LED headlights and some modern embellishments to the late-60s cabin (the Jaguar Drive Control dial being the most obvious departure from script), the car is as original as possible.
Even the battery pack was designed to weigh about the same as the original roadster’s six-cylinder petrol engine, and is under the E-Type’s long bonnet.
It’s a rather cool recreation of an icon. But here’s a stat that’ll give you pause for thought: despite being 46kg lighter than the original car, the E-Type Zero’s 5.5 second 0-100km/h sprint time is only a second faster than the Series 1 E-Type.
Turns out the original E-Type really was a ridiculously quick cat.
TVR back from the grave
Amidst the hoopla over the (latest) return of British sportscar brand TVR, much has been made of the specs attached to the just-unveiled Griffith, which is due to go into production towards the back end of 2018.
We’ll take a look at those in a moment, but what causes the Good Oil office to resort to a bout of exaggerated eye-rolling is the suggestion that the Griffith is the first step in an ambitious 10-year plan for a range of cars.
TVR just can’t help itself. Because we’ve been here before. TVR really does want to make another concerted go of it as a niche sportscar manufacturer with a slew of hinted-at model announcements.
Because that worked out well for Lotus, right? TVR says it will launch ‘R’ and ‘S’ performance derivatives of the Griffith soon, along with a convertible version and even an all-new model during the next decade.
It will also develop a race car programme to push into new European territories and has hinted at a lengthened 2+2 version of the Griffith as well.
For a car company that hasn’t produced anything anyone could buy for a decade or more, even a convertible version of the Griffith, let alone the promise of a new car as well, is the equivalent of manufacturing warp-speed.
The Griffith, which is shorter than both the current Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-Type (cars it will be looking to lure cashed-up enthusiast drivers away from) does look like it will be an entertaining muscle car.
It will feature a Cosworth-tuned Ford Mustang 5.0-litre V8, which TVR says is good for 372kW, a sub-four second sprint from zero to 100km/h and a top speed over 320km/h.
Launch Editions of the car, of which an optimistic 500 will be made, will be priced from £90,000 ($164,000).
We’re hoping they manage to make 500 before everything falls over again.
Whether we ever see a Griffith here is doubtful because the Griffith will probably fail to meet crash and/or drive-by noise regulations for many markets – ours included.
Porsche Design has nice set of pipes
To push an obvious point home, Porsche is rather good at designing sportscars.
Turns out that the non-automotive offshoot Porsche Design is also rather good at designing0 ... well, things that aren’t cars.
Such as this 911 GT3-saluting Bluetooth speaker we’ve been salivating over in the Good Oil offices.
The 60W speaker is designed to look like the exhaust pipe assembly of a 911 GT3, which doesn’t strike us as the most visually stimulating bit of a Porsche 911 to replicate as art. Shows what we know though; it’s a seriously simplistic-yet-stylish piece.
It isn’t even the first time Porsche Design has dabbled in hi-fidelity: they’ve produced a soundbar in the past.
We hope high-end 911 Turbo-inspired headphones are on the way to go with this audio awesomeness.