Jaguar Pirana

The Jaguar Pirana was a one-off concept automobile commissioned by The Daily Telegraph Magazine and presented at the 1967 London Motor Show. The project was initiated by John Anstey, the publication’s editor, as an exercise in conceptualising an ideal high-performance GT vehicle that would merge comfort, style, and technical refinement. The vehicle was designed and built by Carrozzeria Bertone, with the styling executed by Marcello Gandini. The Pirana was constructed on the chassis of a Jaguar E-Type 2+2, provided by Jaguar Cars Ltd. The mechanical configuration was retained from the standard donor car. The engine was the 4.2-litre inline six-cylinder XK unit with dual overhead camshafts, displacing 4,235 cm³. It delivered an output of approximately 265 horsepower and was coupled with a four-speed manual gearbox. Suspension was independent at the front with torsion bars and at the rear with coil springs. Four-wheel disc brakes were fitted, as per Jaguar specification. The bodywork was formed in steel with aluminium for the bonnet. The design featured a low-slung fastback coupe profile, characterised by a truncated Kamm tail, flush headlamps, a long bonnet, and a wide glasshouse. The interior was equipped with Connolly leather upholstery, Smiths air conditioning, power windows, and an integrated audio system. The Pirana was completed in five months and constructed using a full wooden buck. Only one example of the Jaguar Pirana was produced. It was offered for sale by the commissioning party in 1968 and subsequently entered private ownership. The chassis number associated with the Pirana is 1E 50950, and the engine number is 7E 53230-8. The Pirana did not enter production and was not developed further beyond the prototype stage. Its design language influenced subsequent work by Gandini, most notably visible in the Lamborghini Espada, which entered production in 1968. A second, unofficial attempt to replicate the Pirana’s form was made by Piero Drogo on another E-Type chassis, though the result did not attain the same level of cohesion or recognition.  The Pirana represents a singular instance of editorial initiative materialising in the form of a complete, roadworthy concept car executed by a major design house.