Jaguar to build a limited number of new C-types marking 70 years of the iconic race car
Jaguar Classic is creating a strictly limited production run of new C-type Continuation cars, which will be hand built at Jaguar’s Classic Works facility in Coventry. Historic motor racing enthusiasts will be able to buy a new factory-built example of the 1953 disc-braked ‘works’ C-type for the first time.
Aerodynamicist and artist Malcolm Sayer designed the original fluid shape of the C-type which won the Le Mans 24 Hours on its debut in 1951, the first of Jaguar’s seven outright wins at the French endurance race.
From 1952, the C-type adopted disc brakes with a system developed by Jaguar and Dunlop scoring the first win for a disc-braked car with Stirling Moss at the Reims Grand Prix in France and contesting the 1,000-mile Mille Miglia in Italy.
The C-type won the Le Mans 24 Hours again in 1953, another first for disc brakes, and also enjoyed success in the hands of private owners, which contributed to Jaguar finishing vice-champion in the inaugural World Sportscar Championship.
Of the 53 Jaguar C-types built in the 1950s, 43 were sold to private owners, but the production C-type specification was limited to drum-braked cars with twin SU carburettors and 200bhp, in the style of the 1951 works cars.
Eight new C-type Continuation cars will be built ahead of a racing-inspired celebration event for their owners in 2022.
Each will reflect the 1953 Le Mans-winning works team car specification, including 3.4-litre straight-six engine with triple Weber 40DCO3 carburettors for 220bhp and disc brakes.
Additional options available to C-type Continuation customers include an FIA-approved Harness Retention System or rollover protection. Not just for show, these authentic new C-types will be eligible for historic racing, track and closed-road use.
