British manufacturer Ecurie Cars has announced a forthcoming limited series of road-legal cars stylized to look like the Jaguar XJ13 racecar from the 1960s. The first Ecurie M69 out of 25 will be exhibited at a Concours d’Elegance event in September 2019.
The outlines of the modern coupe painstakingly imitate those of the original vehicle, but certain evolutionary signs are still there. For instance, the replica sports differently-shaped air intakes, a fixed hard top, front winglets and a rear wing. Interestingly enough, Ecurie seems determined to refrain from introducing any car design features implemented after 1969.
Lift the hood cover, and you are greeted by the same 5.0-liter V12 the original Jaguar XJ13 had. The tech specs remain undisclosed so far, but the vintage track runner had 510 hp (380 kW) and 523 Nm (386 pound-feet) of torque at its disposal, and ran 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.4 seconds.
The original Jaguar XJ13 is currently exhibited in the British Motor Museum. The vehicle was built in a single copy specifically to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, due to some last-minute changes in the racing regulations, it was never admitted to the race. In early 1970s, it got into a severe road accident, but was completely restored afterwards. Its current owner refused to sell it even after being offered £7,000,000.