Created to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar, the C-X75 of the car that sets a thrilling blueprint for the future of the brand.
The styling showcases a new evolution of Jaguar’s design language, while its groundbreaking gas turbine range extender powertrain shows how the firm has embraced new ways to power its performance cars.
Inspired by the swooping XJ13 Le Mans prototype of the mid-1960s, the C-X75 features a prominent, oval grille flanked by feline, sweeping headlights. At the side, the profile remains simple and elegant, with the flowing shape only interrupted by a sculpted air intake.
The body tapers towards the rear, which incorporates a carbon fibre rear diffuser. There’s no doubting that the Jaguar is stunning, and that impression is only enhanced by the beautifully crafted interior.
Despite being a concept, there’s no overly complex door mechanism, just conventional, front-hinged doors which swing open to reveal a pair of swooping seats. The chairs are fixed to allow for air to channel from the side intakes to the mid-mounted gas turbines, so instead, the steering wheel, controls, main binnacle and pedal box all adjust towards the driver.
The seats are hard, but your attention is soon diverted to the superb TFT screens which are used for the instruments. Lights sweep around each dial’s perimeter, showing the activity of each turbine, while the dials themselves are virtual gimbals – rotating cylinders like those in a fighter jet cockpit – which display speed and battery charge.
The C-X75’s interior features a host of LEDs which make parts of the dash appear to float, while hi-fi specialist Bowers & Wilkins has created honeycomb speakers which are hidden throughout the dash and doors.
To compliment the theatrical looks, the Jaguar is started using a switch mounted in the aircraft-inspired overhead control panel. But even after the engines spool up, there’s no real noise, and certainly none of the drama that comes when you fire up the engine of a modern supercar.
The C-X75 features lithium-ion batteries which can be charged from a household plug in six hours, giving a range of 68 miles. However, when the cells are depleted, the two 94bhp gas turbines kick in. Spinning at up to 80,000rpm, the micro-turbines can either charge the batteries or supplement battery power.
The batteries provide power to four 195bhp electric motors, one for each wheel, which deliver a total of 780bhp and an incredible 1,600Nm of torque. The range is 560 miles and the car emits just 28g/km!
Performance figures are equally impressive, with the benchmark 0-62mph sprint taking just 3.4 seconds and a 205mph top speed claimed.
The C-X75 has two modes. In standard mode, the concept is driven solely by battery power, while Track Mode adds extra boost from the turbines and changes the TFT display to show available power, performance and lap time data.
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