F-Type Coupe

Make
Jaguar
Segment
Coupe

Continuation or recreation cars may hardly be commonplace, but they're not all that rare, either. Most, however, seek to replicate a model of automobile, not a specific example. That's what makes this particular project so unique.

Revealed at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in Monterey this week, the car known as OWL226 painstakingly and faithfully recreates 49FXN – a specific 1963 Jaguar E-Type Low Drag Coupe that remains something of a legend in classic-car circles. The car you see here is the result of an eight-year undertaking, and the finished product, we think you'll agree, looks rather stunning.

The project is the vision of one Marco Diez, an architect and product designer who's now turning his attention to wheeled vehicles, of which this is his first. To pull it off, he teamed up with Fast Cars Ltd. and RS Panels, who all worked together to "replicate the construction and appearance of the original '49FXN' as it would have looked when first designed."

That meant recrafting the bodywork and drivetrain, and even machining new screws just for the project. The 3.8-liter straight-six was built to competition standards by Crosthwaite and Gardiner to produce 380 horsepower – about the same as the modern 3.0-liter supercharged V6 employed in today's F-Type.

The biggest point of departure is the interior, which was stripped down to nothing in the original, but swathed in luscious blue leather on the recreation, with bespoke gauges, custom seats, a purpose-built A/C system, and a unique roll bar with integrated headrests.

"Unveiling this car at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering was the culmination of nearly a decade's work," said Diez. "This Jaguar E-Type Low Drag Coupe has been a passion project. I believe '49FXN' is the one of most beautiful automobiles ever made, so to take inspiration from that and make it my own is a dream come true." We're looking forward to seeing what Diez Concepts cooks up next.