The Jaguar E-Type took the world by storm when it was first introduced back
in March of 1961. And even to this day, it remains one of the most sought after
cars in the entire world. A car so beautiful that current generation supercar
owners shy away, parking their cars well out of eye-shot of the E-Type at any
car show where one makes an appearance, for fear of being overshadowed by its
shear presence.
Sure, any E-Type owner will be the first to admit that the car, however
magnificent it may look, does have it’s fair share of problems when used in
today’s modern world. The brakes, while manageable, are no match for their
modern counterparts. And the story is much the same the deeper and deeper you
delve into the E-Type’s technical underpinnings.
However, since 1982 a small bespoke shop in the heart of England has worked
tirelessly to restore and update the classic E-Type to to not just work in the
modern world, but to thrive in it. That shop is Eagle Engineering. And Eagle
Engineering’s latest project? The Eagle Speedster.
As you are probably well aware by now, the Speedster is based off an original
E-Type body from 1963, with almost all panels being updated and streamlined (who
thought an E-Type could be more streamlined!). Eagle Engineering has inserted a
custom tuned 4.7 liter fuel injected straight-six engine along with a suitably
modern five-speed manual gearbox coupled with updated suspension and brakes.
The original Eagle Speedster was a custom one-off, dreamt up by by Dr. Rick
Velaj from Connecticut. Ever since Speedster #001 debuted at Salon Prive in
2009, the world has fallen in love. From features on Top Gear to articles in
EVO, the journalists collective have raved on end about how spectacular an
achievement it is.
Recently, without so much as a whisper, Eagle released an all new photoset of
their Speedster winding through the sunny, tree-lined hills of Southern France.
Draped in beautiful Black Cognac paint, this is only the 2nd fully completed
Eagle Speedster in the world. With that being said, for close to $500,000
(295,000 pounds) you can commission one of your very own. But unless you’ve
recently found that kind of extra change behind the couch, enjoy the pictures
below as they are truly mesmerizing, in every sense of word.
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