When Jaguar Land Rover announced plans last year for a massive $637m+ investment in their 60-acre Whitley headquarters, we knew some tasty morsels lay ahead. Namely, the potential production of the I-Pace and Jaguar’s electric fleet on the whole. What we didn’t expect? That Jaguar Land Rover would also dedicate a ton of resources to reviving their storied past.
The manufacturer first announced a celebration of heritage rides with its “Reborn” series, a collection of restored Series 1 E-types integrated with new parts only where needed. Additionally, they announced a run of nine hand-built XKSS beauties. The Land Rover division then followed suit with the release of a factory-restored ‘78 three-door Range Rover Classic at Salon Rétromobile, with nine more examples of luxury restorations slated to follow.
The message: automobiles may be in a state of near-unprecedented innvoation, but let’s not forgot the museum-worthy, handbuilt works from whence they came.
Now, while the rest of the auto world is readying itself for the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jaguar is celebrating the June 14th grand opening of its new Classic Works facility by rolling out some of yesteryear’s biggest winners: a two-time winning C-Type, a three-time champ D-Type and an XJR-9 that took the cake in both ‘88 and ‘89.
On the whole, the Classic Works division will serve to restore and sell vintage Jaguar and Land Rover makes, coined as “Legends,” that have been out of production for a decade or more.
There’s no sign on the foreseeable horizon of Jaguar returning to the Le Mans track, but in the meantime, they’re giving the people what they want and playing all the hits.
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