Jaguar unveils images of new '£1m' lightweight E-Type

Images of the new hand-built, lightweight Jaguar E-Type have been unveiled, 50 years after the last lightweight E-Type was completed.

Jaguar originally allocated 18 chassis numbers to a new lightweight series of the iconic E-Types in 1963, but for reasons unknown only completed 12 of the cars.

Now the company is building the final six, using the original chassis numbers. The latest images published are of Car Zero, a seventh car that the company built as a prototype.

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The new production run, first announced in May, will be built by hand at Jaguar's new Heritage customer workshop facility, located on the site of the now-defunct Browns Lane factory.

Each car will be constructed to the exact specifications of their original 1960s forerunners – including the 3.8-litre straight-six engine and aluminium body panels.

Customers will also be able to make bespoke requests for interior and exterior trims, paint and livery. It is a "new car built from an old world", says Top Gear, "and it's really, really cool".

Prices have not yet been confirmed, but the Daily Telegraph suggests the E now stands for expensive. "One thing that made the E-type so special was that it was more affordable than any other high-performance sports car," says the newspaper. "Not this time: at more than £1m each, most of us will just have to make do with the memories."