GRR

Frankenstein Jaguar E-type stuns SEMA

02nd November 2023
Russell Campbell

If you want to make an impact in the world of classic British sportscars, nothing beats taking a wrecking ball to the hopes and dreams of purists, which we'd imagine was Eneo's thinking when it stuck a Toyota 2JZ-GTE straight-six under the haloed bonnet of a 1969 Jaguar E-type.

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If you don't know who Eneos is (it's a Japanese lubricant manufacturer and OEM supplier), chances are you do now, so the plan has worked and, to be honest, the E-type's quite possibly the prettiest thing we've seen all year. 

The Jaguar is the work of Faruk Kugay at DevSpeed Motorsports, who aims to take Europe's finest cars – check – and combine them with the best engineering Japan offers, which the unburstable 2JZ most certainly is. Ironically, this will be one E-type that doesn't burn oil.

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As you'd expect for someone who's a drift racer when he's not hacking up British icons, Kugay didn't keep the 2JZ stock. A new head casting, upgraded Deatschwerks Injectors, Nuke Performance fuel system, CP-Carillo pistons and rods, a Borg Warner turbocharger and a Vibrant Performance intercooler massage 750PS (552kW) out of the Japanese heavyweight.

Reassuringly, Kugay didn't stop at the engine. Under the Jag's skin, you'll find the rear subframe and ZF five-speed gearbox from an E36 BMW M3, while the front brakes come from a 2003 Corvette and the rears from a 2010 BMW 535i.

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Meanwhile, to accommodate those gorgeous 17-inch Rotiform STL two-piece alloy wheels shod in Bridgestone Potenzas, a set of flared wheel arches was created by 3D printing specialists Illumasthetic.

The Jaguar is just the latest work from DevSpeed Motorsports, which has a back catalogue including an E30 BMW M3 with the F20C Honda engine from an S2000 and... are you sitting down? A gen1 Porsche 997 GT3 with its Mezger swapped for an EJ25 from a Subaru Impreza STi. Now, that is a step too far…

  • SEMA 2023

  • 2JZ

  • Jaguar

  • E-Type

  • SEMA

  • Road

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