The Stage
Contemporary speedsters occupy a niche space in contemporary transportation, and they are often expensive playthings for affluent people. Not much has changed from 1904 in this regard. After all,
a speedster is a car designed for speed, fun, and adventure!
2019 Troy Indy Special, a true open-air speedster if there ever was one!
What has changed is how speedsters are being offered in the automotive marketplace. Currently happening:
• Concept cars that trial-balloon manufacturers’ ideas about trends
• Small-batch contemporary models that large manufacturers produce to attract attention
• Limited-production firms that produce small numbers of new sports cars
• Limited-production firms remaking historic classics.
We first broached the subject of contemporary speedsters in post 18 (“Neoclassic Speedsters”) and then looped back in post 37 (“Modern Speedsters pt. 1”) to consider it from another perspective, which was how modernists are stretching the term.
Let’s take another look, shall we?
Good Bones
No one does not love the shape of the Jaguar XK-E, which debuted in 1962 and took English sports car design to new levels. Enzo Ferrari described the Jaguar XK-E to be the most beautiful sports car in the world, high praise from a passionate rival. Indeed, the XK-E’s form has endured to this day as iconic and classic.
Eagle was initially formed by Henry Pearman in 1984 to prepare XKs for competition, as well as restore Jaguar E-types. Joined later by Paul Brace, the Eagle firm continued its focus on restoring E-types. Fifty steel-bodied coupes and roadsters have been restored to date to Eagle company standards.
In 1991 a client approached Eagle to restore a car for him, but to also to improve its reliability and durability. Thus began the Eagle E-Type that we know of today.
The resulting special edition car known as Eagle No. 1 kept its original 4.2 liter capacity while subsequent versions offer and option of increasing engine size to 4.7 liters. All of them feature special carburetion, a five-speed gearbox, tuned suspension with specially fabricated parts, and custom modernized interior upgrades.
Although Eagle uses a Series 1 donor car for each of its restored/remanufactured units, the craftsmen completely rework the XK-E platform to make it into a contemporary sports car, a resto-modded Jaguar if you will, but oh so much more.
From the accolades received by sports car journalists and aficionados, interest in the Eagle has grown along with its reputation; the current waiting list trails out the door and around the corner, so to speak.
Today Eagle still celebrates that classic E-type shape while offering updated features to make the XK-E a more modern drivable experience. Known as the Eagle Zero-Mile E-Type, 50 have been built as of 2020.
As a further step in their mission, Eagle created several aluminum-bodied models; each would target different audiences and their needs. Twelve examples from the four “special edition models” collection have thus far been constructed for clients, with several more in build stage.
These four special models are:
• the Low Drag GT, a svelte, classy Jaguar XK hardtop
2020 Eagle Low-Drag GT
• the Lightweight GT, an aluminum-bodied road-going special
2020 Eagle Lightweight GT
• the Spyder GT, a convertible top version of the Speedster
2020 Eagle Spyder GT
• and the Speedster, a low-windshield, topless, minimalist road car.
2020 Eagle Speedster
The Eagle Speedster
The first Eagle Speedster was built following an American client’s request, and from this the company decided to create a model line and execute 10 aluminum-bodied examples. To date six have been built, and a seventh is under construction.
The Eagle Speedster’s specs:
Height: 1 meter – 39” (3’ 3”), one inch shorter than Ford’s 1966 GT40
Length: 4.26m – 158” (14’)
Wheelbase: 2.44m – 96” (8’)
Width: 1.74m – 68” (5’8”)
Weight: 995 Kg (dry) – 2189 lbs
Engine: 4.7L all aluminum, DOHC inline-six
Max Power: 310 bhp @ 4800 rpmZ
Max Torque: 330 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
0-60 mph: under 5 seconds
Top Speed: in excess of 160 mph
Eagle Speedster side profile
Driver’s side
Engine bay view. Carburetion can vary according to model and client request. Here we see classic SU’s.
Not hard picturing oneself driving this…
The Eagle Speedster is a thing of beauty, a joy to own, and a thrill to drive! You can find more information about Eagle at www.EagleGB.com.
A Step Into Supercars
Noble was started in 1999 by Lee Noble in Leicester, and out of the gate burst a modern supercar company that was hell-bent on building the best and fastest sports car made. Initially, its competition was considered to be the supercars of Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. This view would change over the years, as Noble is currently compared to the Bugatti, Koenigsegg, and other such hypercars.
Although Lee Noble left his company in 2008 after its sale, Noble the car company, now led by ex-racer/designer Peter Boutwood, has kept its focus on super- and hypercar development.
The M600 series, which began production in 2009, is a beast of a sports car that demands a lot of its owners, and it features very few nanny devices by which to keep the foolish and hot-footed safe from their own shenanigans. Thus Nobles became known as fast, expensive, and challenging when really pushed. A pure driving experience, which is a core element regarding speedsters.
Noble M600 Coupe Noble images courtesy Noble Cars UK
That being said, the official company line, as posted on their Instagram account in 2016, is that
“The Noble M600 is a car produced not in competition to the current supercar establishment, but one, we believe, that offers those serious about their driving, an alternative philosophy and a more rewarding driving experience.”
Noble M600 Carbon Sport. The color is actually integrated into the carbon fiber.
The Noble Speedster
In 2016, Noble released its M600 Speedster to much attention and praise. The chassis consisted of a metal tub augmented with a spaceframe, and around this was wrapped its carbon fiber body. (img 14 Noble M600 Speedster white) (Img 15 Noble Spdstr spaceframe)
Overall it’s bigger car than the Eagle, and the Noble’s specs reveal much about its potential:
Height: 1.14 meters – 45”
Length: 4.36m – 14’ 4”
Wheelbase: 2.54m – 8’ 4”
Width: 1.91m – 6’3”
Weight: 1250 Kg (dry) – 2750 lbs
Engine: 4.4L Volvo/Judd biturbo V-8
Max Power: 660 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Max Torque: 487 lb-ft @ 3800 rpm
0-60 mph: 3.5 seconds
Top Speed: in excess of 225 mph
2016 Noble M600 Speedster, a true mid-engine supercar
Noble M600 Speedster engine bay. The cover obscures the view…
… so it’s probably better to scrutinize with the body off! With body panels removed, one can get a better idea of the space-frame and the engine-transaxle components, placement, etc.
Noble M600 Speedster, front view.
M600 Speedster from the rear. If I owned one of these, right now I’d be at confession to atone for my latest speeding ticket!
M600 Speedster overhead view
After its introduction in April of 2017, Noble posted a more clarifying comment about their mid-engine speedster:
“Due to our fixated approach to chassis design, taking the roof off has neither affected the handling nor indeed the weight of the M600. The carbon body on a M600 is not part of the integrity or the strength of the car, it is, rather like a Le Mans racing car, just clothing for the structure underneath. So the M600’s incredible performance, apart from the aerodynamic effect when the roof is removed, is unaffected.”
Instagram is where everyone can confess their inner speedster, eh?
M600 Speedster instrumentation
M600 Speedster seating chart
Room for baggage. Now, how many supercars can offer that?
Although relatively tasteful appointments are featured in its interior when compared to other super- and hypercars, the M600 Speedster is about as different as a speedster can be when compared to the Eagle Speedster. More information about Noble’s line of automobiles can be found at www.noblecars.com.
Invoking historical archetypes, the Eagle appears more like a quick n’ classy boulevardier, like the 1935 Auburn 851 Speedster, while the Noble is raw, rorty, and a bit dangerous, kinda like a 1913 Mercer Type 35 Raceabout.
In either case, neither are cheap nor slow. Both are hand-crafted in small British car firms to very high standards. Both offer a unique speedster lifestyle choice. You pays your money and you takes your chances.
Where Will This All Go?
Think about it: a speedster is a car that is simple, fast, and fun.
Now, as we face the age of SUV-sameness and electric nanny-cars driving us to teas and to market, is there still a place for speedsterism?
Well, heck yeah!
More legacy firms will probably jump back into this lucrative niche and reproduce some of their classics. Let’s face it: money attracts markets, and the speedster market is a viable one. Porsche figured that out.
We’ve also seen this happen with Jaguar completing its E-Type lightweight series, whose production was halted at 12 units in 1963. In an astute market move not unlike what Carroll Shelby did with his Continuation Cobras, Jaguar in 2014 recommenced production of a set number XK-E lightweights, six in all that corresponded with the VIN tags of the destroyed inventory. Jaguar speedsters, no less, and built in the same way as they had been in the 1960s. And they quickly sold out!
2015 Jaguar XK-E Lightweight continuation model. Image courtesy Jaguar
What if Mercedes decided to produce a continuation series of their 300 SLs? Or if Alfa were to roll out a hundred or so Zagato-bodied name-your-model-as-they are-all-so-cool. I mean, it simply boggles the mind!
Contemporary speedsters have a growth market of possibilities, and so we’ll look at a few more examples in upcoming episodes on this subject. We’ve seen the horizon, and the future is looking bright!
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