Buy a brand new C-type

The freshly-minted  C-type is the latest continuation model from Jaguar Classic. There will only be eight of them, all to the best disc-braked 1953 spec, and you will have to be well-heeled to get one; no price is stated but like the C’s continuation predecessors, think less than six noughts and you will likely be disappointed. And it’s a competition car, so you won’t be able to drive it on the road (it says here…).

In a neat 21^st century twist, you will however be able to spec your car in the virtual world on an online configurator, the first time Jag Classic has offered it. There will be 12 body colours and eight interior trim colours – all as offered in period – along with a chance to choose your own style of racing roundels and badging.

But do not expect options like air-con and infotainment or even carpets and door pulls; Jaguar is avoiding “restomod” additions and sticking strictly to the spec of the 53 C-types built in the early 1950s.

Love Jaguar racers? Have a read of the greatest Jaguar racing cars of all time.

It is 70 years since the C (for competition) version of the XK120 first stunned the world with its sleek lines from master ‘50s aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer. It won on its Le Mans debut in 1951 and then it won again two years later, becoming the first car to lap Le Mans at more than 100mph, in large part thanks to a new thing called disc brakes.

It is this 1953 spec – the “ultimate C-type” – that Jag Classic has chosen as its base for the run of eight cars. The aluminium body and lightweight tubular steel frame will be hand-built at the factory using digital scans of a real C-type and original engineering drawings.

“Seventy years on, Jaguar Classic is proud to be able to utilise the latest innovations in manufacturing technology alongside traditional skills  to reintroduce this legendary car for a new generation of enthusiasts to enjoy,” Jag Classic director Dan Pink tells us.

Of the 53 Cs built, 43 were sold to private customers but they were all drum-braked cars with twin-carburettor engines making 200PS (147kW), meaning the eight continuation models will stand alone among customer cars with their disc brakes and triple-carb 220PS (162kW) versions of the 3.4-litre XK motor. 

The lucky eight may not officially be able to enjoy their C-type on the public highway, but Jaguar Classic insists they will all be eligible for historic racing, so we should see them on track. An FIA-approved Harness Retention System is available for serious historic racers.

And in case you need a refresh, here are the other Jaguar continuation cars…

Jaguar Lightweight E-type continuation

Making its UK debut at the Goodwood Revival in 2014, the Lightweight was the first continuation model from Jaguar Classic. Just six latter-day versions of the 1960s racer’s favourite were offered, each endowed with original chassis numbers that Jaguar took out in 1963 but never used.

Jaguar XKSS continuation

It is perhaps the sexiest looking Jaguar ever – as a roadgoing version of the D-type Le Mans winner how could it not be? – and in 2017 Jaguar Classic confirmed it would make nine more of them. Like the earlier Lightweight, it used chassis numbers allocated to the XKSS in period but never used because a fire at the factory destroyed nine of the cars. Each recreated XKSS was said to take 10,000 man hours to build and the cars were said to be period correct down to the bronze-welded chassis tubes and recreated Smiths dials.

Jaguar D-type continuation

After success with the Lightweight E and XKSS, Jaguar Classic went all out in 2018 with a stated run of 25 recreated models of perhaps its most famous car, the triple Le Mans winning D-type. Originally Jaguar allotted 100 chassis numbers for D-type production but Jaguar says it made only 75 cars, allowing for the extra. The multi-million pound creations were available in either Short or Longnose form and using the factory’s original engineering drawings replicated the exact Le Mans-winning spec. Like the new C-type, the cars are not officially road registerable and can be used on private roads and race tracks only.