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ECD Auto Design Jaguar E-Type Electric First Drive: EV restomods have a bright future

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — If youÂ’ve ever dipped a toe into the restomod world before, thereÂ’s a good chance youÂ’ve heard of the Florida-based company ECD. Originally known as East Coast Defender for the companyÂ’s earliest efforts restomodding Land Rover Defenders, itÂ’s now just “ECD Auto Design.” ThatÂ’s because thereÂ’s a whole lot more than just Defenders being cranked out of the workshop these days. And while weÂ’ve already driven its Land Rover offerings in the Defender and Range Rover Classic, today itÂ’s time to take the companyÂ’s latest creation for a spin: the ECD Jaguar E-Type. ECD announced its foray into the E-Type world about a year and a half ago, and by the time we showed up, itÂ’d already produced seven restored and/or heavily modified E-Types. Before we get too far into first impressions, though, some history. The E-Type, formally known as the XK-E here in the states, was produced between 1961 and 1974. It was a bombshell of a sports car when new, touting impressive performance for a solid price from both its inline-six and V12 engines. Jaguar went through three main iterations of the XK-E before wrapping up sales here: Series I, Series II and Series III. And while ECD has restored a Series I, itÂ’s focusing on the more widely available (and more affordable) Series II cars for this project. The E-Type was available as a coupe or convertible, and while ECD is allowing you to stick with either of the original powertrains for restoration builds, itÂ’s also offering some rather tempting swaps. If thereÂ’s something you should know about ECD, itÂ’s that this company loves a good American V8. YouÂ’ll find an LS- or LT-based General Motors V8 in most of its Defender builds, and thatÂ’s exactly what ECD is offering in the E-Type, too. GMÂ’s 450-horsepower LT1 can be plopped under the long hood of the E-Type should you want to turn it into a tire-destroying muscle machine. On the other end of the spectrum is an electric conversion option, which is the E-Type variant we got to drive. Before you scream “sacrilege!” we wonÂ’t bury the lede on this one: An all-electric E-Type is actually a hoot to drive. Admittedly, what makes it fun to drive is also what makes other modern-day sports cars fun to drive. ItÂ’s lightweight at just 2,940 pounds (thatÂ’s 60 pounds less than the V8-powered version), features a 51/49 weight balance, has a 305-horsepower motor doling out power solely to the rear wheels Â… and you can take the roof off!

Junkyard Gem: 2002 Jaguar XJR

One thing that's a constant in the big self-service car graveyards is the presence of massively depreciated European luxury sedans. These cars come from the factory stuffed full of complex leading-edge technology, and they require the owner to check every box on the maintenance schedule, year after year. Once that 10-year-old A8 or S-Class reaches its fourth owner, broken stuff often goes unrepaired, convenience-store generic oil goes in the engine (that is, if the engine even gets any new oil), and the European Luxury Sedan Doomsday Clock starts ticking. Here's a factory-hot-rod Jag that sold new for quite a bit more than a BMW 745i and just 20 bucks less than a Mercedes-Benz S430, back when Enron's machinations were in the news and a lot of energy-industry execs were about to get their luxury sedans repossessed, now in a Colorado self-serve yard. We live in a golden age of forced-induction engines in U-Wrench junkyards, with all sorts of turbocharged and supercharged machinery just waiting to provide the raw materials for a really stupid engine swap. The 4.0-liter, 370-horsepower V8 in the 2002 XJR would be just about perfect for installation into, say, a Datsun Maxima. This yard charges just $44.99 plus $10.60 in core charges and environmental fees for any supercharger, be it the dime-a-dozen Eaton M62 found on GM 3800s or the mighty M112 that was once buried between the heads on this engine. Thing is, you need to get to a car like this immediately after it hits the yard, because the first junkyard shopper with sufficient tools is going to grab that ultra-cool blower right away. The price tag for this car started at $71,830, which comes to about $105,550 in 2020 dollars. We can assume that some four-figure repair became necessary, and that this car's final owner had to let it go to the highest bidder with cash on hand… which turned out to be U-Pull-&-Pay. Look, you could still get a cassette player in a high-end luxury car in 2002! When do you suppose CD players will finally disappear from new cars? Here in the junkyard, the lowly Kia becomes equal to the majestic Jaguar. Perhaps their metals will be reused in a Geely next year. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The security of knowing you'll never, ever lose it in the parking lot. Featured Gallery Junked 2002 Jaguar XJR View 20 Photos Auto News Jaguar Automotive History Sedan jaguar xjr Junkyard Gems

2018 Jaguar F-Pace long-term test introduction

We just spent six months driving around Jaguar's XE in diesel trim, a fun, frugal sports sedan that impressed all of us. But we know that diesel sedans are a pretty slim part of the market, so we decided to check out the other side of Jaguar's coin. For the next six months, we'll be driving a 2018 Jaguar F-Pace. In today's SUV and crossover obsessed world, the F-Pace is already the brand's best seller, and if history and the Porsche Cayenne is any indication, it'll hopefully help finance the sort of lust-worthy but low-volume cars we all love so much. In the meantime, we'll be finding out what all those new Jag owners are getting themselves into. What we got Our particular F-Pace is very close to fully loaded. Outside, it's coated in deep, vibrant Caesium Blue, a hue that was originally intended only for the F-Pace First Edition but popular demand made it more widely available. It's accented with the "Black Package," a $360 option, which swaps out shiny chrome trim on the grille, window surround and fender vents for gloss black pieces. We also added gloss black 20-inch wheels to match, a $1,020 option. For $410, we added a fifth one of those wheels in the trunk, too, since we opted for a full-size spare. Our F-Pace's sporty appearance is complemented by an athletic engine. The F-Pace S (starting price $60,770) comes with the most powerful engine currently available, a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 good for 380 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Like all F-Pace models, all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission are standard. Also, because this is the S model, our F-Pace has the ability to store a custom configuration for the steering and suspension. Most of the options on our F-Pace are convenience items such as the $1,840 "Comfort and Convenience Package" that adds heated and cooled front seats, heated and power-reclining rear seats, remote levers for folding those seats, and a powered, hands-free-opening hatch. The $2,350 "Luxury Interior Package" adds configurable ambient lighting, four-zone climate control, a lockable and cooled glovebox, an air quality sensor, a pair of 12V power sockets in the rear, illuminated door sill plates, a suedecloth headliner and fancier floor mats. The "Driver Assistance Package" and "Technology Package" each cost $3,250 and provided us with Jaguar's top-of-the-line Touch Pro infotainment system, Wi-Fi, a Meridian sound system, navigation, parking sensors, 360-degree cameras, and adaptive cruise control.