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The Jaguar C-X75 is the pinnacle of engineering achievement. Seriously, it doesn’t get more impressive than this.
The team behind it were tasked with making a supercar that had the performance of a Bugatti Veyron, the range of a Chevrolet Volt and the CO2 emissions of a Toyota Prius. That is one massive task. And did they succeed? Hell, yeah.
The Jaguar C-X75 concept car can do 0-100mph in under six seconds, has a top speed of 205mph, but still manages to produce CO2 emissions of less than 89g/km. That’s lower than most Prius models and only just higer than the 82g/km seen in the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Its 1.6 liter turbo-charged and super-charged four-cylinder engine produces a hefty 502 horsepower. But its two electric motors add 390bhp MORE — meaning the car can deliver a 850 horsepower when everything’s working in unison.
Jaguar have released a cool film of the Jaguar C-X75, with some great footage of the car on the track plus interesting commentary from two senior members of the team who built it. You can watch it here (full transcript at the bottom of this post):
The Jaguar C-X75 was developed along with Williams. Yup, that’s the same Williams that makes Formula One racing cars. Jaguar said the main reason for making it was so that the technologies in the C-X75 can be adapted for use in future Jaguar Land Rover cars.
The Jaguar C-X75 has the highest power and torque density of any car engine in history. And in purely electric mode hit still has a range of nearly 50 miles, meaning it could be driven around cities with super-low emissions and extremely good fuel efficiency.
The C-X75 was set to go into production with an estimated retail price of between $1.1million and $1.5million. But in December 2012 the firm cancelled its run saying conditions were not right in the global financial crisis.
However five prototypes were still developed and at least three of these were set to be sold at auction, so I you are EXTREMELY lucky there’s still a chance you might see one on the road.
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Full transcript of the Jaguar C-X75 video above:
TITLE: One of the most innovative and technologically remarkable research prototypes ever created. 220mph. All-wheel drive. Less than 89g/km CO2. F1 inspired engine technology.
ROB ATKIN (Vehicle & Programme Manager for Jaguar C-X75): The C-X75 is the most technologically advanced road car ever conceived.
PAUL NEWSOME (Programme director Jaguar C-X75): The C-X75 started life as a showcar to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar. In May 2011 a hand-picked team of engineers from Williams and Jaguar came together to start designing the CX-75 concept.
ROB ATKIN: Our challenge was monumental. We needed to achieve the performance of a Veyron, the range of a Volt and the CO2 emissions of a Prius and package it all inside the beautiful CS75.
PAUL NEWSOME: Can you imagine how difficult it is to deliver all of those targets together? We couldn’t compromise on any of these goals and two years on we have achieved our target.
ROB ATKIN: This is a car with phenomenal performance. It’s powered by a 1.6 petrol engine, turbo-charged and super-charged, which is combined with two electric motors. All those systems combined produce give well in excess of 800 horsepower.
PAUL NEWSOME: The petrol engine alone is a 1.6 liter producing 500 horsepower. That’s 313 horsepower per liter, and to put that in context that’s 60 per cent more than the best engines available today in cars. And this is delivered at 10,300rpm while still providing perfect driveability at lower revs.
ROB ATKIN: We deliver that power to the road through a seven-speed AMT and full-wheel drive. And even with all that power we deliver emissions less than 89g/km. You know, there almost isn’t an aspect that hasn’t been pushed.
PAUL NEWSOME: Incredible though the car is, the important story is that the technology being developed on it has the potential to be used on future Jaguar Land Rover products. The C-X75 shows that an environmental future can be exciting.
TITLE: Jaguar C-X75 — a hybrid supercar prototype without equal.
ENDS
You can see the Wikipedia entry for the C-X75 concept HERE.
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