The elevation of the GT class to Manufacturers’ Championship status for 1963 prompted Jaguar to develop a small batch of very special lightweight cars to challenge Ferrari.

The FIA’s regulations for the Gran Turismo category stipulated that a minimum of 100 cars had to be built, but permitted coachwork modifications, thus enabling Jaguar to claim that its lightweights were standard E-Types fitted with altered bodywork – the same loophole exploited by Ferrari to get the limited edition 250 GTO homologated, by claiming that they were rebodied 250 GTs.

In fact, all 12 lightweight E-Types constructed in that period were built from scratch with aluminium bodies, though they were invoiced as a new standard road car with additional modifications and numbered in the normal production sequence, albeit with an S chassis number prefix.

To create the 1963 lightweight version, the E-Type’s steel monocoque tub and outer body panels were remanufactured in aluminium and the engine dry-sumped and fi...