Sir Williams Lyons ‘E Type’ burst onto the scene in 1961 at the 31st Geneva Motor Show, with his now legendary E Type, which arrived just 20 minutes before the public was due to arrive after Bob Berry, a Jaguar Executive had volunteered to drive the now famous one of two E Types the 700 miles at speeds not mentioned, from Jaguars headquarters in Coventry, England to Parc des Eaux-Vives in Geneva Switzerland for Jaguars Motor Show Stand.

Who knows if it was all part of Jaguar Cars marketing strategy?

Bob Berry’s epic journey to deliver the car to the adoring public has become almost as well-known as the car itself. With the overwhelming response to the E Type FHC, Sir William Lyons ordered Norman Dewis, Jaguars Cheif Test Drive to bring a S1 3.8 Roadster to Geneva to maximise on the frenzy of the press and public response alike.

Faced with an unexpected deluge of orders, the first personal E-Type Jaguar sale was believed to have been to M. Jacques Charrier, husband of Brigitte Bardot, the French film star. He flew to Geneva from Rome the day after its launch to order and to test drive the 150 mph car.

Chassis No: 13 was first manufactured by Jaguar Cars on 12th of October 1961 & was used as one of their display Jaguar E Type for their stand at the Scottish Motor Show in the November of 1961 & was rebuilt by ourselves in 2013.

An Important point to consider when rebuilding a Classic Jaguar 6 cylinder engine in certain cases is not to over engineer the engine, and in these cases a fast road rebuilt engine giving 285bhp is more than adequate, which we have designed to perform with todays unleaded petrol with high levels of ethanol and for E Fuels of the future.

If you would like to know more about our Jaguar E Type fast road engine specifications, please contact Lanes Cars – Email: info@lanescars.co.uk 

On the 29th of January 1886 Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a petrol (ICE) internal combustion engine.”  which many called a horseless carriage at the time, the patent – number 37435 – maybe regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile that started a global phenomenon that ever since always been driven by dersie, innovation, investment & fossil fuel.

Classic Cars Owners and Collectors have Unknowingly Built a Classic Car Industry

A century later since the dawn of motoring a classic car industry has also grown and flourished to support owners of some of these Icons of automotive history who had freedom of design that new car manufactures can only dream of today.

Enthusiasts owned specialiast businesses that grew out of their passion for their chosen marque, various classic car clubs who without their vast knowledge and skill set, have become indispensable in being able to now maintain these specialist cars for their owners financial gain and their driving enjoyment when out on the open road or driving competitively, ensuring their investments are in safe hands and help contribute to a multi pound classic car industry so they can continue to enjoy their classic car in the future.

Now 135 years later new car manufactures need to Innovate once again for the future

Today not only are new car manufacturers facing disruptive new start up companies such as Tesla and others, who are leading the EV revolution as well as the combined world’s governments continuing to force change upon them, by reducing green house gases in their manufacturing processes, legislating to reduce emissions from the tail pipes of vehicles manufactured as well as introducing ULEZ Zones in cities around the world to help improve the health of those living in these cities.

Global Warming resulting from transport continues to be a hot topic for both now and future generations, with sales of petrol and diesel fossil powered vehicles now being banned as early as 2030 in many countries as they transfer their manutacturing of EV vehicles. There is real change happening now and at a pace within the motoring industry as the race to meet these deadlines is in full flow.

The Future of Classic Cars in this ever changing World 

The classic car industry is also facing the same challenges but without anywhere near the resources of  these major manufacturers to combat these forced changes on the motorist.

However, the classic car movement is a resilient one, as they have already started producing classic car petrol tanks, fuel lines and modifications for carburettors to help reduce the corrosive effect of the increased amount of ethanol in the fuel purchased at the pump. With E95 unleaded fuel slowly being replaced with E10 fuel which has higher water content, this vastly reduces it’s shelf life. As many of us know, some classic cars are rarely used throughout the whole year and do less than 1000 miles annually. In addition to this, many are also in long term storage which can damage leaving E10 in their fuel systems. As a result fo this, all Lanes Cars – Classic Jaguar rebuilds since 2020 have benefited from our E10 fuel upgrade.

Synthetic Fuels maybe only a decade away

With Porsche now trialling and working with other companies in developing synthetic fuel for their legacy cars to be a sustainable alternative for petrol powered classics,  showing a real momentum for substainable E Fuels for classic cars in the future. Formula One have also pledged to move to E Fuels as part of their commitment to reach a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030, the race has truely already started.

SNG Barratts Jaguar Part Specialists have an E Type with standard carburetors running on a sustainable E fuel supplied by Coryton oil refinery, but they aren’t the only ones, Jaguar racing specialists CKL Developments in East Sussex, has also been testing sustainable E fuel in an E Type at Goodwood.

 There are also oil companies now investing to begin to manufacture synthetic fuel, this will allow the original ICE engines to still power and remain at the heart of a Classic Car in the future, albeit, it may be expensive to buy and only available from a few selected outlets. With this in mind, Lanes Cars are already planning for these changes and are determined to rise to the challenges that the next decade will no doubt present, so our Classic Jaguar Car owners can continue to enjoy their classic cars in their original form both now and when synthetic fuels are more readily available to the classic car movement.

EV Classic Car Conversions available today

EV Conversions are already available for Classic Car Owners today, with many Classic EV conversion companies having come to the market recently with each company having their  own way of installing their EV drivetrains into a classic car without zero body interference and they might not be reversible in the future once the ICE drivetrain has been removed, however many of these have lengthy lead times, as owners look to securing their Classic Car for their future use.

Once your classic car has a EV drivetrain installed and registered correctly with DVLA, you can then enjoy all the advantages as the owner of any new electric registered car. Ease of allocated EV parking, driving in ULEZ City Zones and being able to recharge at your home or office or at anyone of upto the 2 million public commercial charging points avaiable around the world when out on the open road.

Lanes Cars chosen partner for installing a EV conversion drivetrain into a Classic Jaguar XK150 manufactured between 1958 to 1960 , eith a safety first policy with over 5 years and thousands of proving miles driven of this EV drivetrain unit which includes regenerative braking and a purposely designed battery pack in a modular OEM all new component EV drivetrain, with zero body interference and is fully reversible at any time in the future. The EV unit and battery pack is fully covered by a manufacturer’s warranty once installed.

Once installed, the investment in your Classic EV Jaguar now offers the reliability and minimal ongoing servicing costs you would expect from a new electric car, knowing now you have peace of mind of avoiding the unexpected expensive ICE mechanical repair bills such as an engine, gearbox or differential failure at some time possibly in the future.

Now with the reliability of a new modern EV Car your Classic EV Jaguar Car is ready for your daily use and without the cabin fumes, exhaust heat transfer and oil leaks associated with classic car ownership. You can now park anywhere especially when visiting friends, out on the open road enjoying the instant torque or driving to one of the many classic car events held annually.

Lanes Cars believe by installing one of our partners EV drivetrains we can continue to remain true to Jaguar Cars original ethos of grace, space, pace but also now with a range of up to 250 miles on a single charge and exceptional pace so you can enjoy the instant torque of an electric modern sports car in one of Sir William Lyons – eye catching Jaguar Cars, which are now without doubt Icons of British and Automotive Design and innovation in the world of Classic Cars.

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The XK120 was designed in three months by William Lyons and William Heynes and when launched to the public in 1948 caused a sensation.

On 30 May 1949, on the empty Ostend-Jabbeke motorway in Belgium, a prototype XK120 timed by the officials of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium achieved an average of runs in opposing directions of 132.6 mph with the windscreen replaced by just one small aero screen and a catalogued alternative top gear ratio, and 135 mph with a passenger-side tonneau cover in place and claimed it’s place in motoring history as the fastest production car in the world 71 years ago.

Also in 1950 and 1951, at Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, a banked oval track in France, open XK120s averaged over 100 mph for 24 hours and over 130 mph for an hour.

In 1952 a fixed-head coupé took numerous world records for speed and distance when it averaged 100 mph for a week.

The XK120 paved the way for Jaguar Cars to develop their Le Mans winning C Type and D Type legendary racing cars.

Jaguars need for speed was a real selling point for Jaguar Cars in the 1950s and 60s and were seen as the leading manufacturer of sport cars in the world.

Watch Jonny Smith from The Late Brake Show road testing RBW EV Cars MG B Roadster Recreation.

Watch RBW MG EV RBW Recreation Video

Watch James May from Drive Tribe road testing RBW EV Cars MG B Roadster Recreation.

Is the electric MG PERFECT for James May?

For further details please contact Martin Lane

Lanes Cars Appointed RBW EV Cars Main Distributor and Main Agent.

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