Jaguar rebuilds two early models to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the E-Type.

The Jaguar E-Type is 60 years old, and to celebrate, Jaguar has recreated two early cars.

The originals were registered as "9600 HP" and "77 RW," the cars used by Jaguar to launch the E-Type in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 15, 1961.

Jaguar had six of each in production and sold them in pairs to six fortunate and wealthy collectors. These cars are known as the E-Type 60 Collection, and the first two were unveiled to the public on Friday.

One car was inspired by the gray coupe that Bob Berry, Jaguar's public relations manager at the time of the E-Type launch, drove straight from Jaguar's home in Coventry, England, to Geneva the night before the launch. The car was such a hit that the next day Jaguar engineer Norman Dewis was ordered to "drop everything" and drive a second E-Type to Geneva.

In recent years, Jaguar has built new E-Types from scratch, but the cars in the E-Type 60 collection were built using the original donor E-Type with a 3.8-liter inline 6-cylinder engine (the same type used in the early E-Types) and a 5-speed manual . Rather like Jaguar's recently announced "reborn" E-Type series, the original E-Type has been thoroughly restored to its factory-original pristine condition.

The colors used in the E-Type 60 collection match the originals and are used only on modern E-types. In addition to the unique design details commemorating the 60th anniversary, the modern cars also feature modern goodies such as a retro-style infotainment system with navigation and connectivity options. The ignition and cooling systems are also contemporary in design.

Production of the car will be handled by the Jaguar Classic division in Warwickshire, England, and all production slots have already been filled. Owners will be invited by Jaguar in the summer of 2022 to enjoy a road trip from Coventry to Geneva, like the Berry and Duis of old.

As a special touch, each coupe will be accompanied by a stylized map plotting key locations along Berry's original route and the phrase "I thought you'd never get here." The phrase was uttered by Jaguar founder William Lyons in anticipation of Berry's arrival.

The roadster was given a map of Dewis' route, and instructions were given to him to "drop everything and bring the open-top E-Type."