ECD Automotive Design Now Selling Jaguar E-Type Restomods Called The XK-E

Oct. 29, 2022 4:20 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Sports Cars / 1 Comment

You can have a restomod E-Type with an LT1 V8 or a Tesla EV motor.

There's an excellent case to be made for the Jaguar E-Type being the most beautiful car ever built. The Lamborghini Miura gets close, as does the Ferrari 250 GTO, but the E-Type just has a certain something. Not even Jaguar's spiritual successor, the F-Type, could match its beauty.

It was designed long before wind tunnels and aerodynamics became a thing. Therefore, it's style just for the sake of style. You can sketch the profile using just three swipes of a pencil, which is always a sign of great design. Then there's the long hood and the stubby rear end. It looks dainty, but the E-Type sounds monstrous thanks to its unfiltered inline-six engines.

Naturally, it's a darling of the restomod world, and pretty soon you'll be able to buy an American-made example thanks to ECD Automotive Design.

ECD is the world's largest restorer of classic Land Rover Defenders and original Range Rover classic models. Its most famous models are the classic Defenders, each sold with a unique name. They do have an LT4 V8 and an eight-speed automatic transmission in common, however.

ECD also goes a bit whacky sometimes, and then the result is a Range Rover Classic with a 700-horsepower Corvette V8.

It has now expanded its existing restoration facility in Orlando, Florida, and announced the addition of restored E-Types (also called XK-Es) to its model range. It has already sourced three E-Type donor cars which will become the first American-made, custom-built XK-Es. To show what it can do, ECD shared a few images of its previous projects.

The upgraded facility is 100,000 square feet, with two production lines. Production is set to scale up exponentially.

ECD is to the E-Type what Singer is to the 911. Each XK-E will be a bespoke order, custom-made to its owner's needs. ECD sits down with a customer and designs the car using CAD.

Some owners go classic and stick with original colors and equipment or choose from a wide selection of new materials and technology like navigation. Once the design is done, a photorealistic 3D model is made to tide the customer over while he waits for 18 months.

Only then do the team set out to find the perfect donor car, which is usually a Series II or Series III model. The vehicle is then taken apart and carefully rebuilt. Naturally, each car is equipped with modern brakes, suspension, and the like.

There are three engine options (technically four) to choose from. Customers can either go the classic route, in which case the team will also restore the 4.2-liter inline six from the Series II or the V12 from the Series III.

Customers who want to travel sideways at all times can go for GM's LT1 crate engine. The engineers will fit a Tesla electric motor if you're going to make a green statement.

"An international icon in terms of power, style, and luxury, famous names like George Harrison, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, and Sir Elton John all chose the E-Type as their preferred set of wheels," said Tom Humble, co-founder of ECD. "Owning this gem today is like owning a piece of history. But at ECD, you're getting more than just a British classic, you're getting the masterpiece of your dreams personalized just for you via our meticulous 2,200-hour restoration process."

No pricing has been released, but this is definitely a case of if you have to ask...