I recently had the opportunity to drive two very different Jaguar E-types on the same day. The first was a very early series 1 car from 1963 which had been recently restored and the second was Challenger E-type manufactured in the 1980s.
To be clear - the Challenger E-type is not actually an E-type. It is fiber glass body (moulded from a real E-type) sitting on a hand made chassis with the running gear and engine from a Jaguar XJS. These were constructed by a British company back when E-types were so expensive that the only real way to experience was to obtain a replica. I must come clean and say that I do not particulary like the E-type driving experience. I am 5 foot 10 and always feel cramped and contorted after along stretch in an E-type. I am used to driving E-types, so the early ‘real’ car had few surprises for me.
The Challenger was however a different story. The first surprise was how Glen, an expert mechanic and Jaguar restorer of many years standing was so enthusiastic about the Challenger’s hand made chassis. He went so far to describe it as a work of art. The second was the first time I sat in the car - it’s bigger than the real thing, more comfortable and has a better driving position. Driving it was also a another surprise - the whole thing felt lively, rigid and more rewarding than the real thing. The XJS engine felt far more responsive and the gear changes sweeter. The handling more polished.
I have never been a fan of ‘Replica’ cars but I must say that the Challenger E-type has swayed my opinion. I would go so far as to say that it deserves a better label than ‘Replica’ - what challenger created back in the 1980s was what the E-type might have evolved into had it not been replaced.