Tata Motors-owned Jaguar on Friday announced its plan to build a new hybrid supercar, which can run on both petrol and electricity. The C-X75, which will cost between £700,000 ($1.2 million) and £900,000 ($1.5 million), will have a top speed in excess of 200 miles (320 kmph) per hour.
The car, to be built by Jaguar in the UK in association with Williams F1, will only have limited production — just 250 will be built.
The exclusive and limited-edition lightweight car with all carbon-fibre chassis and will be capable of “silent electric running with an extensive EV range in excess of 50 km”.
The hybrid supercar will have two powerful electric motors and four-wheel-drive and can go from 0-60 mph in less than three seconds and 0-100 mph in less than six seconds, Jaguar revealed. The initial concept design study for the hybrid supercar was revealed at the 2010 Paris motor show.
“People expect Jaguar to be innovators — that is when Jaguar is at its best,” Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar brand director, said Friday. “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.”
Jaguar Land Rover will collaborate with Williams F1 for the first time and the production of Jaguar C-X75 will create more than 100 highly-skilled UK jobs. Williams F1 will provide engineering expertise for the hybrid supercar in areas like aerodynamics, carbon composite manufacture and hybrid technologies.
Jaguar claimed that the technology used will ensure top speed performance along with incredibly low emissions, with a target of less than 99g/km carbon dioxide emissions.
“Never before has the company launched such an ambitious, world-beating vehicle programme,” Tata Motors CEO Carl-Peter Forster said. “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 a reality.”
Jaguar has started taking expressions of interest via its website and phone numbers. Tata Motors, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, clarified Friday that no new investment plan of £5 billion for JLR had been announced. The Tata-owned firm had last year revealed plans to invest billions in the UK after it reached “a landmark pay and conditions settlement” with the trade unions representing its workforce in October.
It is this investment that has been calculated to be about £1 billion annually and will be continued for five years, the firm clarified.