Jaguar World Magazine C-X75 - JAGUAR’S SHOW STOPPER Back Issue

Show stopper!
Right, I’m no longer travelling backwards, although
I am sat on the fl oor – there’s not a lot of space
in the media centre here, and there wasn’t much
space around Jaguar’s stand at 9.45am this morning
either. Enduring the crush, though, was well worth it
as when the covers came off the concept car they
revealed, the C-X75, was quite stunning. It’s both a
celebration of Jaguar’s past – hence the ‘75’ part of
its title – and a nod towards an exciting future.
Though it’s actually shorter and lower than the
current XK by some margin, the wide and low-slung
C-X75’s visual impact is nevertheless high, and
the technology it showcases most impressive too.
If you fi nd the thought of electric-powered cars a
turn-off , consider that this one will reach 62mph in
3.4 seconds and top 205mph, and you may think
again…that’s before considering the fact it’s also
four-wheel drive. You can read the full story of the
Paris unveiling and technical details on pages 6-7.
As for last night’s hypotheses – I wasn’t too far
wide of the mark, although the four-wheel drive
system was a surprise. Is it something we’ll see
production ready soon? No. The C-X75 is a true
‘concept’. The micro-gas turbine technology is
working – the car is a ‘driver’ – but there are plenty
of issues that would need to be dealt with before
something of this nature could hit the showrooms.
Consider, for instance, that the gas turbines
compress 35,000 litres of air per minute. Just
eff ectively fi ltering that air for one presents a serious
challenge in a road car environment.
My guess would be that this is just one alternative powertrain route Jaguar is considering, perhaps not for the next generation of cars but the one beyond that (interestingly, on the day of the car’s unveiling, Tata, Jaguar’s owner, also announced it is to buy a minority stake in Bladon Jets – the British manufacturer of those micro-gas turbines).