The Petrolhead Corner: A Pair Of Exquisite Jaguar Cars – Monochrome Watches

Jaguar is one of the great British car manufacturers, perhaps only rivalled by Aston Martin when it comes to style, class, and heritage. It started out as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, making motorcycle sidecars before moving into the production of cars in the mid-1930s, with the first-ever car being the SS Jaguar 2.5L Saloon. For obvious reasons, the SS name wouldn’t stick for long, as immediately after WWII, the company’s name was changed to Jaguar. The brand has a very rich history both on the road and in racing, winning Le Mans no less than seven times, for instance. Many cars can be called iconic, and just recently, two of those made headlines in the automotive industry! 

The contrast couldn’t be bigger between the two, as on one end, we have a pure handcrafted beauty in the Jaguar Classic E-Type Commemoratives, and on the other, we have a concept-car-turned-stunt-car-turned-road-car in the Callum Designs C-X75. The story of the latter is rather unexpected, as the C-X75 never made it into production, sadly, but now has been turned into a road-legal one-off sports car. The only thing that’s lacking is the hybrid electric twin micro-turbine drivetrain it was supposed to come with. But I’m getting ahead of myself as I first want to go into detail on the pair of celebratory E-Types!

Jaguar Classic e-type commemorative

The legacy of the E-Type started back in March of 1961 when it was unveiled at the Geneva Autosalon. It immediately caused a stir due to the sensual lines of the body and it’s rumoured none other than Enzo Ferrari, Il Commendatore, called the E-Type “the most beautiful car ever made”. While that remains a topic of debate, there’s no denying the E-Type is an absolute beauty. It was based on the platform of the D-Type race car, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours race three years in a row (1955-1956-1957). It was also the first production car that could hit a top speed of 150mph (240kph) thanks to a 3.8-litre in-line six-cylinder engine. This was enlarged to 4.2 litre between 1965 and 1967, which gave it a bit more power and torque and eventually swapped out for a V12.

The E-Type came as either a Coupe or a Roadster and would evolve from the initial Series I to the final Series III, with production ending in 1974. The straight-six was replaced by a 5.3 litre V12 when the Series III was introduced in 1971. This kept the same 150mph/240kph top speed but would hit 60mph (100kph) in under seven seconds, whereas the Series I reached that in just over seven seconds. It also had a very successful racing career, although it wouldn’t be as mighty as the D-Type and C-Type before it. Nevertheless, it’s a true classic and one that has a very strong following of enthusiasts and collectors. The rarest examples can hit over USD 1.000.000 at auction, but given the fact that almost 40.000 of them were made between 1961 and 1974, there are far more attainable E-Types to be found!

The two Jaguar Classic E-Type Commemoratives you see here are built for a very important client in Southeast Asia to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the final production car rolling off the assembly line. Both are Series I dropheads, or roadsters, with one being finished in Signet Green and the other in Opal Black. The cars have been made in collaboration with renowned UK jewellers Deakin & Francis, who’ve left their mark on the interior with mother of pearl, solid silver and 18ct gold details. It’s fitted with hand-woven and stitched Bridge of Weir tan leather seats, with black and tan leather trim elements to match. The centre console bears an anodized aluminium section with the blueprint of an original Series I E-Type engraved into it. A fitting tribute to the car’s legacy!

As it should, the cars are fitted with a 3.8 litre straight six engine, although it has been updated with electronic fuel injection. This is mated to a Jaguar Classic five-speed manual transmission to ensure a more reliable but still thrilling driving experience! No word is mentioned on the cost of the cars, but the final invoice will likely be very, very steep! Must be good to be a millionaire…

Callum Designs c-x75

On to the second one, and this has perhaps an even more intriguing story! This goes back to 2010 when Jaguar pulled the covers of one of their finest modern designs, the C-X75. The concept car was built to celebrate 75 years of the Jaguar name and had a hybrid-electric drivetrain consisting of four electric motors and a battery pack being charged by a pair of diesel micro-gas turbines. Despite a limited production run being announced, it wasn’t meant to be due to the fear of spiralling production costs.

The C-X75 was penned by Ian Callum, a designer with an incredible resume in the industry. His work includes cars like the Ford RS200, Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish, Nissan R390, the Jaguar XK and F-Type and plenty of others. In 2019, he founded his eponymous design studio after announcing that he would step down from his role as Director of Design for Jaguar Cars. And Callum Designs is where things get very interesting! You see, after being canned as a production car, the C-X75 turned to the Big Screen. Several stunt cars based on the concept were built for the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, where bad guy Hinx chases the titular spy (in an Aston Martin, of course) through Rome in a rust-orange coloured C-X75 (see below).

There’s debate about how many cars have actually been built between the original concept and the movie cars, but two have since been converted to a road legal sports car! One of those is this mint-green specimen which Callum Designs just announced. Understandably, it lacks the unconventional drivetrain the C-X75 was intended to have. Instead, it’s fitted with a supercharged V8 engine bolted to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. No performance figures are given, but it should be plenty quick! What’s also undisclosed is the cost of the conversion, which is probably not an easy thing to do in the first place. Again, much like the E-Type’s, we’re likely looking at seven figures for the total build.

What has remained pretty much untouched is the amazing styling of the concept car. The Callum Designs C-X75 has grown a pair of door mirrors in the process, but that’s about it. Oh, and the doors are now butterfly doors, giving way to a green-and-cream leather-clad interior. It’s amazing to see a working road-legal Jaguar C-X75 on the road. “Seeing” is to be taken lightly, as it probably ends up attending a few shows and then back into hiding again. I don’t expect the owner to rack up thousands of kilometres in this, although I definitely think he should!

For more information, please visit Media.Jaguar.com or CallumDesigns.com.

Editorial Note: The images and information used for this article are sourced from and used with permission of Jaguar Cars and Callum Designs unless stated otherwise.