After a decade of sourcing and restoring Jaguar E-Types British engineer Chedeen Battick founded Helm Motors to bring to life his idea of the perfect Series 1 Jaguar sports car.
“I wanted to create the E-Type the way I feel it should be, remaining sensitive to its history, but without a vinyl interior, and without the hassle of carburettor trouble,” says Battick. “We combine British craftsmanship with the finest standards of modern automotive engineering, instilling a feeling of love, care and attention to detail within each component.”
Battick says that over 3800 hours of labour will go into each of the 20 examples to built. Helm will keep at least 30 per cent of the source car’s monocoque, replacing the rest with fresh steel. New doors and a hood will be hand beaten from aluminium, and then sprayed with more than 20 litres of paint. All brightwork will be nickel-finished.
Mechanical changes are significant, with six-piston alloy front disc brakes, and new rear discs behind hand-finished steel wheels on Avon ZZ tyres. Adjustable suspension is installed, with uprated torsion bars and a quick-adjust reaction plate, and speed-sensitive electronic power steering is added. Other touches to bring the E-Type up to date include a heated windscreen, LED lighting, and even soft-close doors.
The 3.8-litre straight six engine is rebuilt to a 300bhp fast road tune with Jenvey heritage throttle bodies, an alloy cooling system, and an aircraft-grade stainless steel exhaust. A five-speed manual gearbox completes the powertrain.
The Helm E-type was crafted in conjunction with leather designer Bill Amberg so it’s the interior that is understandably most impressive. Only semi-aniline leather and calf suede are used throughout, and even the toggle switches and grab handles are hand-stitched. The cabin is heat and sound insulated, has LED lighting, unique instrumentation, air conditioning and a bluetooth audio system. Each car will come with a set of matching trademark Amberg “Rocket” bags.
This leather-lined luxury doesn’t come cheap mind. The starting price for a Helm E-type starts at approximately £420,000.
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