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LOOKS LIKE THE REAL THING: Visualtech’s Growler gets the E-Type proportions and detailing spot-on; all finished in a blend of carbon-fibre composites.
Jaguar’s E-Type remains for many the ultimate British performance car – even half a century after its debut at the Geneva auto show.
With pristine examples fetching outrageous prices, and the issue of supply always an issue, a Swedish design consultancy called Visualtech has stepped in with its interpretation of what a contemporary E-Type should represent.
VISUALLY STUNNING
The Swedish firm’s modern E-Type alternative is called the Growler and features a host of classic styling cues such as swept-up exhausts, wireframe wheels and a radically sloped roofline running down to a pinched rear.
Visualtech says it will build a very limited number of Growlers for delivery by the second quarter of 2012.
If demand is stronger than the three or four cars envisioned, Austria’s Steyr or Finland’s Valmet (well known for its Porsche Boxster assembly skills) could produce additional examples.
Pricing hinges on how many orders Visualtech receives. If the number is low, expect to pay around R10m for one. If a limited production run is undertaken by Steyr or Valmet, that price should be reduced by half.
What do you get for that kind of silly money?
CARBON-FIBRE CHASSIS
Well, beyond the absolutely beauty of the Growler, which is quite an outstandingly executed modern reinterpretation of the original E-Type, the technology underpinning the car is thoroughly advanced.
The surfacing is composite and chassis carbon-fibre, a combination that should ensure a low licensing mass (optimising performance) and excellent torsional rigidity (guaranteeing inch-perfect handling responses).
Powering the Growler will be a modified version of Jaguar’s 5-litre supercharged V8, currently on duty in both the XKR and XFR, with a peak power ouput of 440kW.
If you have disposable income to burn and the idea of a modern hand-built E-Type appeals to you, well, these Visualtech Growlers should have an appeal all of their own – especially finished in a hue colour-matched as close as possible to what has become known as "British racing green".
With pristine examples fetching outrageous prices, and the issue of supply always an issue, a Swedish design consultancy called Visualtech has stepped in with its interpretation of what a contemporary E-Type should represent.
VISUALLY STUNNING
The Swedish firm’s modern E-Type alternative is called the Growler and features a host of classic styling cues such as swept-up exhausts, wireframe wheels and a radically sloped roofline running down to a pinched rear.
Visualtech says it will build a very limited number of Growlers for delivery by the second quarter of 2012.
If demand is stronger than the three or four cars envisioned, Austria’s Steyr or Finland’s Valmet (well known for its Porsche Boxster assembly skills) could produce additional examples.
Pricing hinges on how many orders Visualtech receives. If the number is low, expect to pay around R10m for one. If a limited production run is undertaken by Steyr or Valmet, that price should be reduced by half.
What do you get for that kind of silly money?
CARBON-FIBRE CHASSIS
Well, beyond the absolutely beauty of the Growler, which is quite an outstandingly executed modern reinterpretation of the original E-Type, the technology underpinning the car is thoroughly advanced.
The surfacing is composite and chassis carbon-fibre, a combination that should ensure a low licensing mass (optimising performance) and excellent torsional rigidity (guaranteeing inch-perfect handling responses).
Powering the Growler will be a modified version of Jaguar’s 5-litre supercharged V8, currently on duty in both the XKR and XFR, with a peak power ouput of 440kW.
If you have disposable income to burn and the idea of a modern hand-built E-Type appeals to you, well, these Visualtech Growlers should have an appeal all of their own – especially finished in a hue colour-matched as close as possible to what has become known as "British racing green".
