First Jaguar C-type Continuation car completed

Following its announcement by Jaguar Classic Works last September, the first customer car in the limited-edition C-type Continuation Series was completed on 29 June, the date marking 70 years since the first win at international level for an original C-type fitted with disc brakes.

On that day in 1952, Stirling Moss drove a C-type to victory in a 50-lap, 224km sports car race at the Reims GP Meeting in France. A year later, a C-type fitted with the same revolutionary disc brakes as the Moss car would win outright at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jaguar’s second victory, following the first in 1951.

The finish of the Moss race winner – pastel green with suede green seat trim – has inspired the look of the first completed Continuation C-type.

“Each C-type offers an authentic driving experience for customers, starting even from the car’s distinctive starting procedure, that our team was determined to get exactly right,” said David Foster, Head of Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

“We’ve combined original drawings, modern CAD techniques and 3,000 hours of skill and attention to produce our first hand-built C-type, noting a historic landmark moment for Jaguar Classic.”

Beyond the 3,000-hour build time, that attention also includes 250 miles of physical testing by Jaguar Classic engineers to run the car in before delivery.

All C-Type Continuations are built to the same spec as the 1953 Jaguar works cars, with hand-formed aluminium body panels, a 3.4-litre straight six engine producing 220bhp (164kW), four-speed manual transmission, centre-lock wire spoke wheels and the aforementioned disc brakes, which were developed by Dunlop and reportedly fitted at Moss’s suggestion before becoming a standard feature.

While the reproduction C-type’s mechanical spec is set and cannot be altered, customers can choose from a range of twelve exterior colours and eight hues for the leather interior. These options are inspired by paint and trim choices Jaguar offered in period.

Each Continuation C-type is FIA-approved, meaning it can compete in FIA Historic competition, including the Jaguar Classic Challenge.

Only 16 examples of the C-type Continuation Series will be produced, eight of which had already been allocated to customers at time of writing. Jaguar have not been specific on pricing, but each unit is believed to cost around £1.5 million (AU$2.6M approx.).