Jaguar is building five C-X75 plug-in hybrid electric hypercars to validate its performance target, according to MotorTrend. From the validation results the project will get the green light, says Bob Joyce, Jaguar Land Rover’s group engineering director.
According to Joyce, the supercar could go on sale in 2014 limited to only 200 units and costs in the region of £700,000-£900,000. The Jaguar C-X75 is being developed in partnership with Williams and will be the second British hybrid supercar next to McLaren’s new P12 supercar to challenge the Ferrari Enzo successor and Porsche 918 Spyder.
The most important news revealed at the headquarters was the use of a turbo- and supercharged 1.6 petrol engine developed by Williams sporting direct injection, twin-charging and a stratospheric 10,000rpm redline. The engine replaces the dual jet turbines that featured on the 2010 concept. For those of you who want to listen to the engine click here!
Next to the 1.6 liter engine, two electric engine are always boosted the conventional powerplant. The car can also run in EV mode at speeds up to 40mph around town and is capable of doing a 200mph top speed and sub 3.0sec 0-60mph time. The total range of the 200kg 600v battery pack is 60km.
The uses a similar setup as the Porsche 918 Spyder in which the power is sent to the rear wheels or used to charge the battery. The electric motor up front is on a single transmission, while the power of the electric motor at the rear is combined with the conventional powertrain. As the engine at the front never decouples, this means the car works with permanent four-wheel drive.
