Test-Driving ECD's Jaguar E-Type GTO #1 'The Connecticut Commission'

Forbes

2 days ago

ECD Auto Design's radical new Jaguar E-Type restomod blends historical elements with modern creature ... More comforts.
One of the most desirable cars in the world lives at the Petersen Automotive Museum, which allows the general public to catch a glimpse of, but certainly not drive, Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS. Nicknamed 'The Green Rat,' McQueen's Jag reached legendary status in Hollywood lore, but is also the car I grew up hearing my dad reminisce about from his own childhood in Laurel Canyon. More recently, I came perhaps the closest I might ever come to driving an XKSS, on a dreamy day in a spectacular E-Type restomod build by Florida-based ECD Auto Design.
This car emerged from the company formerly known as East Coast Defenders as a one-off customer commission inspired by the XKSS, the historical D-Type racecars it was based on and even the Ferrari 250 GTO. The build features totally custom bodywork with a removable hardtop, a hot-rod V12 engine and a five-speed manual transmission—all in green over tan, of course.
The GTO's wood-rimmed steering wheel, dash switchgear and upright shifter all hark back to Jaguars ... More of olde.
ECD brought the car, in this case known as GTO # 1 or The Connecticut Commission, out for test drives in Malibu alongside a more traditional E-Type 2+2 featuring an American V8 and automatic gearbox. For a bit of context, I drove the coupe first. And boy, does ECD turn out a spectacular creation, which perfectly nails modern ease and classic comfort. The Chevrolet LT1 V8 puts down effortless torque that matches buttery gearshifts, a smooth suspension setup, immaculate steering precision and excellent visibility over that longer-than-long hood.
After a few minutes, I slipped into The Connecticut Commission, which introduced a new level of build complexity for ECD. As I acquainted myself to the car, founder Tom Humble described the job as the kind of undertaking reserved only for repeat customers.
'When it's someone that's a repeat customer, we do let them lead a little bit,' he told me. 'We'll kind of keep it in the realms of possibility, but if they want something one-off and hand-built, I mean, that's what we do.'
'Luckily, the architecture is already there in the car. It's just a little bit of refinement and modernizing where you can, and it actually comes out really nice. You don't need to reinvent the wheel with the E-Types, you need to just refine them a little bit.'
Fully custom bodywork finished in metallic British Racing Green drapes over wire wheels and Fosseway ... More Performance brakes.
Building a Newly Stylized Jaguar Restomod
The GTO theoretically started life as a Series 2 E-Type, but now features the fully custom body, details from a Series 1 including the taillight and headlight covers, plus the V12 engine from a Series 3 that Team CJ of Austin, Texas, bored out to 6.8 liters with fully upgraded internals and gorgeous velocity stacks. The mill now routes around 450 horsepower through a Tremec five-speed on the way to a Series 3 rear end rebuilt with a limited-slip differential.
That rear end presented further challenges given the wider body, so ECD needed to source entirely new axles and cradles—all custom jobs—plus a set of sparkling wire wheels. And even before pulling away, first impressions of the GTO versus the 2+2 revealed an entirely new ballgame. On a sunny day, we ditched the hardtop, but I still needed to adjust to the smaller Momo steering wheel with a mahogany rim, as well as the surprisingly notchy shift knob. Then, I slotted the key into the center console above the shifter and thumbed the ignition to fire up that V12, which barked to life raucously before settling into a lumpy idle.
Lifting the clamshell hood reveals a stroked V12 that looks just as good as it sounds.
Humble acknowledges the appeal of the Jaguar V12, which Team CJ spent six months building (a pittance compared to the 14 months the hand-formed body required) but honestly recommends the LT1 small block to most customers in the name of reliability and simplicity. But even after a few seconds, everyone will fall in love with this V12. And even if a few oil hiccups might crop up over the years, at least it's not carbureted, so fuel injection should help with cold starts on early Sunday mornings.
The neighbors won't appreciate the grumbling exhaust, though the engine doesn't rev particularly high for a V12, given the 6,000-rpm redline. But it's a spicy torque monster, as I quickly discovered while acclimating to the clutch pedal, which engages rather high off the floor. We slowly pulled away, the wind rush starting to ruffle hairs, but the lack of calm versus the 2+2 only highlighted everything wonderful about the drive.
Lucente Hercules leather contrasts perfectly with the BRG paintjob.
Undeniable Performance Gains, But Further Refinement Still Required
By comparison, the GTO's suspension more squarely rides the wider tires, all of which imbues a newfound level of perceived performance even without pushing particularly hard. The steering weights up mightily entering corners, as the engine blatters away—I found a quick shift helped to prevent the revs from dropping too rapidly between gears. We've come a long way from the boatlike nature of an unmodified E-Type, but the slight revisions make do quite nicely.
I enjoyed not just the sensory overload of physical effort, lateral g forces and aural stimulation, but also spent plenty of time sussing out the varying character that the total combination of ECD's decisions create. Each car brings a different unique nature to the table, and even if the GTO still needs a bit of ironing out to reach the level of build quality the 2+2 clearly revealed, the rugged tactility of more directly harnessing a V12 engine in a lighter body with wider track all create a compelling case for the more hardcore build.
Perfection in the details required 14 months of labor, by hand, to complete the GTO's immaculate ... More bodywork.
Brief impressions aside, as we wrapped up the day, I also wondered whether I'll ever get any closer to living out my lifelong XKSS dream. For that reason alone, GTO # 1 aka The Connecticut Commission sure seems worth the extra investment—which I can admit is no joke, jumping up from $399,000 to start for the 2+2 all the way to $599,000 for the GTO. But that indelible attraction is what ECD hopes to bank on, as the firm continues refining this first effort and ever improving the classic Jaguar E-Type.