Jaguar : C-X75 to be built in collaboration with Williams F1

Jaguar has today confirmed that the company will launch the remarkable C-X75 Concept car as an exclusive hybrid supercar.

The Jaguar C-X75 will become the British marque’s most advanced model to date. It will offer performance on a par with the fastest production cars on the market, while adopting cutting-edge technology that offers remarkably economical running. Jaguar expects this hybrid supercar to deliver incredibly low CO2 emissions of less than 99g/km while being able to achieve in excess of 200mph.

‘People expect Jaguar to be innovators − that is when Jaguar is at its best,’ said Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar Brand Director. ‘The C-X75 received an incredible reception as a concept car. We’ve been building on that momentum and there is a clear business case for this exclusive halo model. No other vehicle will better signify Jaguar’s renewed confidence and excellence in technological innovation than this.’

Project C-X75 will be the ultimate expression of Jaguar design and engineering innovation. This high-performance hybrid supercar will stay true to the initial concept design study that made its debut at last year’s Paris Motor Show, while fulfilling requirements that allow it to be homologated for road use.

We were always determined that the Jaguar C-X75 would be as striking on the road as it was in concept form. This will be the finest looking and most innovative Jaguar ever produced. Even in the world of supercars, we can still produce the most beautiful.” Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar Cars

‘We were always determined that the Jaguar C-X75 would be as striking on the road as it was in concept form,’ said Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar Cars. ‘This will be the finest looking and most innovative Jaguar ever produced. Even in the world of supercars, we can still produce the most beautiful.’

In an unprecedented move, Jaguar C-X75 will be developed in association with Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited/Williams F1 who will provide their engineering expertise in areas including aerodynamics, carbon composite manufacture and hybrid technologies. This association will be at the leading edge of British automotive engineering and innovation.

‘Confirmation of this project today signposts Jaguar Land Rover’s continued determination to embrace new technologies,” said Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr Ralf Speth. ‘A supercar like the C-X75 is the logical choice to showcase cutting-edge design, intelligent use of new environmental technologies and motorsport-inspired performance.’

Today’s announcement also marks a new milestone in both companies’ histories as Jaguar Land Rover and Williams collaborate for the first time to produce one of the world’s highest performance and environmentally sustainable supercars. The production of Jaguar C-X75 will create more than one hundred highly-skilled jobs in the UK.

A direct technology transfer between elite motorsport and road-going production cars is key to C-X75’s success. The supercar’s chassis will be made of carbon-fibre to create an incredibly lightweight, yet rigidly strong structure.

Confirmation of this project today signposts Jaguar Land Rover’s continued determination to embrace new technologies. A supercar like the C-X75 is the logical choice to showcase cutting-edge design, intelligent use of new environmental technologies and motorsport-inspired performance.” Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover

Aiding the transition from concept to production vehicle is the choice of powertrain. Jaguar continues to develop the use of the micro-turbine technology that was showcased in the original concept C-X75. Jaguar’s parent company Tata has taken a significant stake in Bladon Jets, and will develop this very advanced technology as a medium-term aspiration that will play a part in Jaguars of the future.

To bring Project C-X75 to showroom reality within the timescales of a conventional model programme, an equally innovative powertrain had to be developed. The road-going supercar will use a state-of-the-art, small-capacity, highly-boosted internal combustion engine with one powerful electric motor at each axle.

‘The engine’s compact size allows it to be mounted low in the car for optimum weight distribution and to retain the concept’s stunning silhouette. This will make the Jaguar C-X75 a bona fide hybrid supercar capable of silent electric running with an extensive EV range in excess of 50km,’ explained Bob Joyce, Group Engineering Director, Jaguar Land Rover.

The C-X75 will be one of the fastest production cars in the world when its motors and combustion engine combine, with a sub-three second 0-60mph time and a top speed in excess of 200mph. Crucially, this performance will be generated alongside incredibly low emissions, with a target of less than 99g/km CO2, thanks to Project C-X75’s lightweight construction and cutting-edge powertrain technology.

Our new association with Jaguar Land Rover provides us with an exciting opportunity to work with one of the motoring world’s most famous and iconic brands. Williams has always considered itself an engineering company and so this project will allow us to combine our technical expertise to create something truly exceptional.” Sir Frank Williams, Chairman, Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited

Williams F1 has been at the forefront of motorsport engineering for three decades. The project engagement on Jaguar C-X75 is testament to the team’s ambitions and will bring together two leading lights of the UK motoring industry.

‘Our new association with Jaguar Land Rover provides us with an exciting opportunity to work with one of the motoring world’s most famous and iconic brands,’ said Sir Frank Williams, Chairman, Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited. ‘Williams has always considered itself an engineering company and so this project will allow us to combine our technical expertise to create something truly exceptional.’

The Jaguar C-X75 will redefine the customer experience and will set new standards in sales and after-sales services that will be recreated across the range in the future. Only 250 examples will be built, each costing between £700,000 – £900,000 depending on market and local taxes.

‘Never before has the company launched such an ambitious, world-beating vehicle programme,’ said Carl-Peter Forster, CEO, Tata Motors. ‘This is the Jaguar of the future. The opportunity for innovation like this in the UK is part of the reason Tata Motors invested in Jaguar, and it’s fantastic that products like the C-X75 can become reality.’

[Source: Jaguar UK]

Clive Goldthorp

21 Comments

  1. I hope the Jaguar C-X75’s more successful than the XJ220… However, at least it’s a proper supercar.

    The collaboration with Jaguar should do Williams F1 a bit of good. However, given Jaguar’s previous ownership of what is now the Red Bull F1 Team, I wonder why Jaguar didn’t try them…

  2. Sadly, I don’t like the C-X75’s styling when compared to that of the XJ220. The Jaguar DNA is far more flowing and distinctive in the XJ220, whereas the C-X75 has too much visual similarity with Lotus’ and McLaren’s offerings.

    However, it is good to see that beneath the skin lies some innovative engineering which involves input from specialist companies such as Williams F1.

    Incidentally, on the subject of innovative technology, Jaguar, please note that there was another British car company which pioneered gas turbine technology for potential use in road cars some sixty years before you mentioned it in your Press Releases last year for the C-X75 Concept car. The company concerned was called the Rover Company Limited, not Jaguar Cars Limited. Some of us are aware of Britain’s previous Automotive Engineering achievements…

  3. @David 3500
    That’s a very good point about Rover gas turbine cars. Hopefully, there will be a chance for readers to see them during AROnline’s 10th Birthday Party at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon on the 16th July, 2011.

  4. I think it sounds like this hybrid powertrain is related to the one in the Limo Green project. I wonder whatever happened to that – did it morph into this or is it still active?

  5. I reckon that, for JLR at the moment, the old adage success breeds success seems to apply. The company is finally making decent profits – £1 billion plus per year – and Tata Motors is reinvesting this back into new models and cutting edge technology. The Evoque can only add to the balance sheet. Greater volume with an X-TYPE replacement must be the goal for the Jaguar division.

    I would still dearly love to see JLR introducing a Rover R8 200/400 replacement – priced between, say, £18k-£25k, such a model would bring some style, quality and innovative powertrains to the C-segment.

  6. This looks like a smart move: dip your toe in the water with experimental technology but do it (partly) at the expense of the customer. Good luck to everyone involved – the car looks great, the technology is innovative and it should provide a terrific “halo” effect for the company as a whole.

  7. Nobody ever thought that Jaguar was going to build the thing, but I’m glad they are.

    It’s a gorgeous supercar and nobody does that any more, not even Pininfarina.

    My feeling on getting Williams on board: why doesn’t eveyone apply British F1 engineering nous to their cars?

  8. @Simon
    I thought that Jaguar was already planning a new model to slot in below the X-TYPE replacement and rival the BMW 1-Series.

    The C-X75 looks great and harks back to the XJ13 lightweight car – it’s a gorgeous design and, if you look at the lines, especially from B-Pillar onwards, you see the visual references.

    Oh, and I’d just add, anything Aston Martin can do, Jaguar can do better… Na, na, na, na, nah!!

  9. The Jaguar C-X75 is just a pointless vanity project – if Jaguar is serious about hybrids, they should get the Indica EV team to create an electric X-TYPE replacement, not a white elephant.

    I am rather surprised that the Metro 6R4 (Williams-engineered remember?) XJ220 6 cylinder connection wasn’t played up by Jaguar’s PR team.

  10. @Andrew Elphick
    Not really, it’s not like Jaguar has come up with a supercar for the sake of coming up with a supercar. The original C-X75 Concept was designed and engineered to make a point and change perceptions within both the industry and the wider public. The message was: Jaguar is back, Jaguar is fresh and Jaguar can come up with tech along with the rest of them.

    Jaguar wasn’t expecting the response they got at the Paris Motor Show and the company was not initially convinced that any Jaguar supercar would be profitable. However, somewhere along the line, someone has done the feasibility studies and the bean-counters have worked the numbers. Actually, to be honest, judging by the number of enquiries at dealerships, marketing have got an easy job. This will be a halo model which can prove that Jaguar has got the beans and the confidence to shout about what they’re good at.

    I also find it interesting that this car allows Jaguar to get through the average CO2 limit, enforced by Brussels. Aston Martin have done this by using the IQ/Cygnet model. Jaguar have gone about it in a totally opposite way – a supercar using hybrid technology which should, in effect, filter down to lower models. There’s a reason why they call them the halo models…

    My main worry is that Frank Williams might pass on these developments to BMW… However, I’d like to think that he is too professional to do a Tom Walkinshaw.

  11. The C-X75 is such an exciting car. The initial production models will rely on an ICE for range extension but, if the turbines can ultimately be made feasible and reliable, then the packaging implications for all E-REVs in the future are immense.

    There would be no need to make space and centre-of-gravity allowances to carry around a few hundred kilograms of supplementary internal combustion pig-iron – just two small turbines which, if I remember correctly from the C-X75’s unveiling, weigh about 35kg each and are about the size of your forearm. Incredible…

    Such a technological leap is crucial too – oil is only going to get more expensive in the future (a shame for those of us with a classic habit), whereas the price of electric cars can only come down. Technology like this means that the range from a charge can only go up and, hence, that a major barrier to the acceptance of electric cars will have been surmounted – range anxiety will be a thing of the past.

    Welcome to the future, everybody.

  12. @Ajax Soixantedix
    The tech has always been there but in this format it’s pretty immature and Jaguar are working with Bladon Jets to continue to develop it. Tata Limited acquired a 20 per cent stake in the company last autumn. Here’s the Press Release which was issued at that time.

  13. Is the Jaguar C-X75’s hybrid powertrain the design being worked on by Lotus Engineering? Jaguar were looking at using this design to power the XF and XJ models.

    This halo idea is Tata Motors stating they have arrived in the motor world just like VW did with the Bugatti – we can do better than you. Don’t be surprised to see a Jaguar-badged engine powering the Williams F1 car in the future – Tata Motors mean business.

  14. I thought McLaren had already built a 200mph British supercar. Is this a case of Not Invented Here?

  15. Mike Goy :
    I thought McLaren had already built a 200mph British supercar. Is this a case of Not Invented Here?

    Yes they have, but not with a hybrid powertrain.

  16. I’m happy to see the C-X75 heading into production and the collaboration with Williams is a good move as well. I wish them all the best and hope the asking price won’t price the car out of the market. Then again, these cars will likely go to collectors rather than to people who will use them on a regular basis.

  17. @BajanDave
    Are you mad? 🙂 There were enquiries at dealerships as soon as this was announced. That Jaguar badge really does seem to count for a lot around the world these days – they’re doing well and these cars are going to sell.

  18. I love how the rear end evokes memories of the XJ13. That was definitely the inspiration for this machine.

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