Chip Foose’s Jaguar E-Type Roadster Restomod Is an American Vision

But, many people want to leave their own mark on the design, and several companies have thus have given us awesome restomods, the Eagle Spyder GT being a particularly noteworthy example. But there's never been anything quite like the Chip Foose version, unveiled just in time for this year's SEMA show.

We've followed many of his projects over the years, and it's always the same story: a game of inches. You pull the windshield back and down a few inches, shuffle the features around, lower the car a few inches, etc.

The Jag started life as a 1973 Series 3, which is not what it looks like today. That's because the later model with the weird headlights is cheaper, while a Series 1 is not only super-expensive but also a treasured rarity.

Foose's redesign feels like it has a tiny bit of American styling in it, like his famous Ford Thunderbirds or perhaps a hint of the 1958 Corvette in those teardrop taillights. The polished wheels also modernize the classic and measure 19 inches at the front and 20 at the back, something Chip likes to do a lot.

The restored interior also has a hot rod feel to it, in the way the seats are spaced or the bold choice of leather. This is strictly a speedster now, not a convertible, which gets our seal of approval.

And as if the styling wasn't American enough, you've also got an LS3 V8 engine in place of the classic V12. It offers about twice the power of the original and screams through a custom MagnaFlow one-off exhaust system. But that doesn't make it an acceptable swap in our book.