Watch the Ecurie Ecosse LM-C

IT’S an emotive machine that comes with modern features and will be lovingly handcrafted by specialists.

That’s how boss Alasdair McCaig describes the very exclusive LM-C car that Ecurie Ecosse is developing.

Just seven models are being created by the famous Scottish racing outfit in homage to the same number of Jaguar C-types with which they enjoyed such huge success in the 1950s.

Accomplished endurance racer Alasdair has driven the first LM-C himself along the famous Bealach na Ba road to Applecross in Wester Ross.

He said: “It’s got the best bits of a historical racing car but with fantastic modern features and reliability that mean you can use it on a run to the shops or for a blast along country roads.”

Back in the day, the C-type was considered a technological masterpiece – it was the first race car honed in a wind tunnel – and laid the foundations for Le Mans victories for Ecurie Ecosse.

But the 59 podium finishes and fully laden trophy cabinet achieved with the C-type was due in no small part to the careful planning and fine-tuning provided by team leaders David Murray and “Wilkie” Wilkinson.

With the LM-C, Ecurie Ecosse has retained all the key elements that contributed to the roaring success of the 1950s Jaguar racer while, in true team spirit, making considered improvements.

The aerodynamic shape stays faithful, still crafted from thin-gauge aluminium alloy and mounted to a steel spaceframe chassis, but wider and stiffer than before, and laser-cut for accuracy.

Delivering one of the best soundtracks you’ll hear from any car, the Jaguar straight-six XK engine remains, too, although capacity has been increased to 4.2 litres and fuel injection fitted to bring power up to 300bhp.

The suspension and disc brakes have been uprated to cope with the additional performance, while an extra gear makes the manual transmission a five-speed to maximise acceleration and red-lining.

With a kerb weight of just 998kg, it means the rear-wheel-drive two-seater can rocket to 62mph in just 5.2 seconds before topping out at 156mph.

The detail of the car is as breathtaking, with hand-crafted aluminium bucket seats clothed in supple blue leather by Crest, hand-airbrushed Ecurie Ecosse shields on the car’s flanks and Tag Heuer Master Time stopwatches on the dashboard.

Although prices are only available on inquiry, Alasdair said there has been a huge amount of interest already – including from potential buyers overseas.

And with an order to completion time of about three months, it means customers could be getting the most out of their LM-Cs as Covid restrictions end.

Alasdair said: “How better to celebrate the historic success of the Ecurie Ecosse C-types than to manufacture a batch of cars in their honour?

“The seven priceless chassis raced in period still exist today, coveted by their lucky owners, occasionally seeing the light of day for race or concours events.

“We are paying homage to these cars by creating a numbered sister car to each one – meticulous in their detail, hand-built in Coventry and tuned by our technicians.”

Ecurie Ecosse continues to support young Scottish racing drivers in their ambitions. And one thing is for certain, they would surely dream of driving the LM-C. Find out more at www.ecurieecosse.com/lmc.