Within weeks of becoming Editor-in-Chief here at TTAC (and through a truly unexpected twist of fate), I was given the opportunity to interview Jaguar’s head of Design, Ian Callum on the occasion of my first-ever visit to Detroit. True to our industry-centric mission, I was in town for Chrysler’s Five Year Business Plan, and to be perfectly honest, I struggled with the challenge of interviewing a chief designer, especially one who had recently rejuvenated the aesthetics of such a storied brand.
As I was fumbling through our breakfast interview, we were joined by a GM executive who happened to live at the hotel where Mr Callum was staying, and when I got the most unexpected answer of the interview, it’s safe to say this exec jumped as high out of his seat as I did. I had asked Callum what his favorite new car was, and to my complete surprise he answered “Chevrolet Stingray Concept.” That answer actually played a surprisingly important role in my subsequent career, as it earned Mr Callum and myself an invitation to GM’s Heritage Center (once we had scraped the GM exec’s jaw off the floor), where we spent three hours wandering around and taking in the best of GM’s glorious past.
Needless to say this was a turning point for me, an experience that banished any self-doubt I might have harbored about whether or not I could be truly passionate about cars. You can not spend that much time around those cars with a guy like Callum and not emerge a changed person. Moreover, it helped me understand in a more intimate sense, what it means to struggle to live up to a faraway but epically glorious past… a challenge that GM and Jaguar share.
So when Jaguar debuted a Callum-designed mid-engined supercar, the C-X75, I felt a weird sense of connection. I knew that, whether Jaguar built this car or not, it represented the culmination of one man’s dream. Though Callum admitted he wanted to do a “proper” supercar “for selfish reasons,” he was adamant that “Jaguar has the right” to build sensual, over-the-top supercars. And, luckily for him, he has bosses who agree.
According to Autocar, Jaguar will build 250 production versions of the C-X75, which will sell for over $1 million each. And though the majority of those will not use the concept’s turbine-electric drivetrain, Jaguar says a certain (small) number of C-X75s could be fitted with the futuristic jet drive. In any case, Jaguar will not simply be bunging a version of its V8 into the new supercar, as managers argue that “people expect us to be innovators.”
To that end, the car is being developed in partnership with the Williams F1 team, and the majority will likely be powered by a “highly boosted” 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine, similar to the ones to be used in the forthcoming F1 formula. With plug-in electric power at all four corners and a carbonfiber chassis, Autocar reports
Total power could amount to as much as 1000 bhp, but the car will also have an electric-only mode for urban use. Jaguar promises a 200mph top speed, zero to 100mph acceleration in less than six seconds and an all-electric range of about 30 miles.
Is it a pity that fewer than 50 C-X75s will be jet-powered? Perhaps. But this unconventional, achingly beautiful supercar is a wholly appropriate flagship for a brand that, against all odds, has clawed its way back from the brink and rejuvenated itself in a distinctly modern way. More importantly, it’s a fitting culmination to the career of the man who possibly understands what it means to be Jaguar better than anyone else. A man who, having designed such icons as the Aston Martin DB7, wanted only to create one over-the-top, mid-engined supercar. In a business that is rapidly losing its connection between passionate individuals and distinctive, daring cars, the C-X75 embodies just a little bit of the old emotion- (and yes, ego-)driven sensibility that defined the golden age of automobiles.
WHEN?! I can’t wait to see it/hear it. (A gas turbine hybrid, that is).
OK Jaguar; less than 50? Whatever. I can’t afford one anyway. But I’d love to see/hear it.
Right now it’s only 48 years later than originally planned (by Rover). And about 45 years later than what Chrysler SHOULD have done (the 1966 Dodge Charger was intended to be the world’s first gas turbine car, since Rover didn’t bother with theirs starting in
1963 or 1964).
I suspect it’ll take 2 to 3 years (or more) to get this out. If they don’t change their minds (as Rover and Chrysler both did).
So, stop teasing me!!!
Truly, though, how sensible is a microturbine (which could run on diesel, kerosene, gasoline, E10, E85, peanut oil, pulverized coal dust…) powering a HYDRAULIC HYBRID system (no need for rare earth minerals at super high costs) instead of a pie in the sky fuel cell (using super-expensive platinum and plenty of it). Yep; the turbine wheels need to have specialty metals.
Guess which car company in what country developed LOW COST turbine wheels 50 years ago? (Hint: it wasn’t Rover, and it wasn’t the UK).
Metallurgy does not change with time….
A turbine is most efficient under load at a set speed. Perfect for cycling a hybrid drive, whether electric or hydraulic.
I’ll be long dead before any such drivetrain graces the streets in large numbers, though, because the powers that be lack vision and a sense of adventure, as well as any real sense of wanting to truly solve our huge problems.
Instead greed and selfishness are the overwhelming stench of the human race these days, even more so than in prior times, if that is possible.
“Guess which car company in what country developed LOW COST turbine wheels 50 years ago? (Hint: it wasn’t Rover, and it wasn’t the UK).”
What do you mean by low cost? What do you mean by wheels? There have been Gas Turbine cars, trucks, trains, tanks with various levels of relative cost and mainstream acceptance. Rover were the first to have a running gas turbine car in 1950 and it is therefore fitting that a company in the same group get one to the market, although I would prefer it wore a Rover badge seeing that Tata own that too
The turbine-powered cars will be interesting, the 4-bangers not so much.
Without having to operate at a wide range of speeds (like the Chrysler), a turbine _should_ be more efficient as a generator. Also, lighter and simpler.
Alright, dammit! That’s it. I am just going to have to get out there and trade up that $10M I’ve been dreaming about!
Jet power FTW.
Crappy British engineering FTW!
British Engineering is fine. British Manufacture however is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish!
@Chuck: E-Type owner FTW!
This car is awesome. TATA get’s Jaguar and what it’s customers want. This is a halo car that will sell lot’s of Jaguar 3 series type products. Ford never got this and lumbered the car enthusiast with the Mondeo X type.
If Lincoln want to survive then in the long term they need the kind of investment Jaguar is getting. But if Ford’s management of Jaguar and Volvo is anything to go by then that will never happen.
I’d have to say I can’t agree with you at all about Ford’s ownership of Jag.
Firstly, the entire current lineup of Jag (and Land Rover) were all designed and approved under the ownership of Ford.
Secondly, where was Jaguar before Ford bought it? With a very poor reputation for quality. Now they’re consistantly near the top of most reliability surveys.
I agree that (initially at first), Ford didn’t really understand Jaguar and thought that if all their cars looked like the original XJ then they’d sell. They eventually learnt their lesson, and what you see now is a result of that.
Plus, the X-Type was never a bad car. To start with, the Mondeo was (and still is) a damn good car – the benchmark at the time in Europe for mid-sized sedans. I’ve driven both, and they don’t feel like each other. The problem with the X-Type was that they decided again to make it look like an XJ, and that completely missed the target audience.
Compare Ford’s ownership of Jaguar with that of GM’s ownership of Saab and decide who did a better job.
It looks like a modernized version of the XJ220 which is not a bad thing.
The four banger could work if it has enough power. It would be a cool different approach to a supercar. The turbine powered version requires no words.