The Jaguar C Type is Set to Be Reborn

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By Ben Selby

The Jaguar C-Type is to be reborn, with the iconic British marque adding the Le Mans winning sports car to its Classic Continuation programme.

The C-Type Continuation will be based on the 1953 Le Mans winner of Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt. This received a power boost from an enlarged 3.4-litre straight six with triple Weber carburetors, bringing power up to 220hp.

The 1953 C Type was also the first racing sports car to fit disc brakes, giving Jaguar a huge advantage over the competition at events like Le Mans and the Ulster TT.

The 1953 car of Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt was made more infamous as it very nearly didn’t race at Le Mans at all. The organizers disqualified the Hamilton/Rolt car on a technicality. Guttered, Hamilton went into the Le Mans township, found a bar, and got drunk. However, in a remarkable twist, the organizers then decided the Hamilton’s car could compete after all.

So, despite being completely off his face, Hamilton shared driving duties with Tony Rolt as planned. The race went on and the the Jaguar mechanics tried to sober Hamilton up by giving him black coffee when he came into pit.

This made Hamilton feel drowsy, so they replaced the coffee with Brandy, and sent him on his way

He was so out of it, that a bird hit him in the face while running 150mph down the Mulsanne straight, and he never noticed. Unbelievably, Hamilton and Rolt won.

Just like with the continuation XKSS built in 2017, the C-Type Continuation will be built from scratch combining the drawings and schematics from Jaguar’s archives and the latest computer technology.

Only eight continuation C-Types are to be built. Jaguar are planning a race event with the completed cars in 2022. Therefore, you better get online and place your order in quick. That said, don’t expect it to be cheap.