TMW - Jaguar C-X75, missed opportunity or corporate suicide?

In 2008 Ford had finally given up on it's Jaguar and Land Rover brands, and would eventually sell all of it's European brands under the PAG or Premier Automotive Group, these included Aston Martin and Volvo as well as Lincoln and Mercury, the two later brands remained under Ford ownership and when, in 2010 Volvo was sold to Geely of China, it brought to an end of the PAG part of Ford.

However, when Jaguar and Land Rover along with the other marques of Rover, Daimler and Lanchester, were absorbed into the massive conglomerate known as TATA, there was a sense of dread as to what can TATA do that Ford couldn't, and in the five years that Ratan Tata has been in charge, the two brands have changed completely from American ownership.

For the Jaguar brand, which this piece is about, came the biggest change, there was the X-Type, that failed to live up to expectations due to it being harshly compared with the far less competent Ford Mondeo, this model was the first to go, followed by the introduction of the Jaguar XF which changed Jaguars fortunes completely, this one car revolutionised a defunct range of old cars, driven by elderly people, right into the 21st century, with throbbing red start button, a gear selector that rises from the center console, and the automatic air vents that, when not in use, sit flush with the dashboard, but at the touch of a button turn effortlessly round to fill the car with ice cold gusts of air.

The XK and XJ also followed suit both with new cars, both of which were a vast improvement on the previous generations, with the XJ, like the XF before, defining the sector, and in one swoop of the pen, consigning to history the decades old look of the XJ, I am not saying it was bad, no way, I loved the styling of the last retro XJ, but it had to change, and it was this new XJ that was the complete opposite of the one before, that cemented the new blood at Jaguar.

I remember taking a pre-production one out by kind permission of Jaguar at Castle Bromwich, and was instantly impressed how they had managed to change everything but still maintain the aura of a large Jag. Various models appeared and R and R-S performance cars were launched, an estate XF came with the midlife facelift, Then we were teased with a new sports car in the same vein as the iconic E-Type, and in a nod to history the new car was called F-Type, but the next car that Jaguar was to show the world is the one that has caused all the controversy.

Here is the the Jaguar C-X75, a car that just oozes passion, beauty, speed and class, a car that will take you to the echelons of top speed records but will be as frugal as a small hatchback car, the comfort and cosseting interior, and quietness that the hybrid sectors of the car will offer, but it has a history, it was compared unfavourably to the Jaguar XJ220, whose gestation period made the car that was initially produced completely different from what the buying public eventually purchased, will this car be the same.

Jaguar made the announcement that the C-X75 will be developed in association with Sir Frank Williams' Williams F1 engineering company, who would have provided their engineering expertise in a number of area's including Aerodynamics, Hybrid technology, and carbon composite manufacture, Jaguar also stated that the key to the C-X75's success will be the transfer between ultimate motorsport and general road going production car, and part of this will be the carbon fiber chassis which would have been produced to reduce weight yet give extreme rigidity to the car structure.

**In terms of performance, Jaguar envisioned a goal of their future supercar reaching 330 km/h (205 mph) and accelerating from 0 to 100km h (0 to 62 mph) in 3.4 seconds and 80 to 145 km/h (50 to 90 mph) in 2.3 seconds. It is powered by four 145 kW (194 hp) electric motors – one for each wheel - which produce 780 hp (582 kW) and a total torque output of 1,600 N·m (1,180 lbf·ft). Inherent in the drivetrain is the ability to independently vector torque to each wheel across the full speed range.  Each motor weighs 50 kilograms (110 lb). The micro gas turbines from Bladon jets generate enough electricity to extend the range of the car to 900 km (559 mi) while producing 28 grams of CO₂per kilometre on the EU test cycle. While running solely on battery power, the C-X75 has an all electric range of 110 km (68 mi). Among other advantages, the micro turbines used in the C-X75 can be run on a range of fuels including diesel, fossil fuels, compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. The 15kWh lithium ion battery pack weighs 185 kilograms (410 lb). Jaguar estimates an average carbon emission of 28 g/km on European test cycle; however, the carbon emission is around 150g/km if the turbines are running.

Jaguar also focused on the aerodynamics in order to improve performance. For example, the carbon-fibre rear diffuser that guides airflow from under the car creating down-force, and includes an active aerofoil and is lowered automatically as speed increases. Moreover, the C-X75 features an extruded and bonded, aerospace-inspired, aluminium chassis, saving on weight and improving sustainability and performance.** 

The decision to go ahead with it came with the announcement that it will cost £700,000GBP, and the petrol/electric hybrid car will only have a limited production run of just 250 units produced over two years, 2013-2015, they produced five running prototypes to assess its many new and varied technologies, with the one reproduced here, being the only one that was finished to a production standard.

The alcantara, leather and chrome, the carbon fibre and glass perfect paintwork, shows the world what the C-X75 will be like in final trim spec, work continued apace to bring this supercar to market, and to show the world that Jaguar is a maker of premium supercars that can and will be thee cars to beat. Many comments were made by insiders notably, "People expect Jaguar to be innovators, thats when Jaguar is at it's best" Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar Brand Director.

Also Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design stated that "We were always determined that the C-X75 would be as striking on the road as it was in concept form" even Jaguar, Land Rover's CEO was seen to be commenting that "Confirmation of this project today signposts Jaguar Land Rover's continued determination to embrace new technologies" and "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"

With all these comments from the men in suits at JLR headquarters it then came as a massive shock when they just pulled the plug (no pun intended) on the project and left Williams F1 with, not only unwanted technology, but allegedly a financial deficit too, the car that would have been a massive halo vehicle for the brand was no more, the five pre production cars are just that and no matter how many people would have been willing to pay good money for one of these cars the dream has ended, the C-X75, the anniversary present to it's self is dead.

However, Jaguar seem to have forgotten this, as they are touting the cars at all the shows, motoring events and anything else they generally show cars at, even though they will not produce it, I think they are just rubbing our noses in the fact that they can make them but choose not to, the reason of cancellation, well, a feeble one really, they state that under this economic climate to produce a car of this cost is not acceptable, well, Bugatti, Spyker, Ferrari and so on and so on all build cars in the mega money band, and they all sell, so why wouldn't a stunning car from the UK.

I will leave it to you to decide, has the cancellation of the C-X75 saved the company from what it describes as the wrong time to introduce a  supercar, and the possible financial fall out that that may have caused, or have they really missed the boat, and lost out on a massive opportunity to produce an environmentally acceptable supercar, that has the pedigree of Jaguar behind it, and the engineering of a major Formula one team, along with some of the best co2 figures, top speed, 0-60 times, all packaged up in what has to be one of the most beautiful cars that never made it to full production.

Will Jaguar live to regret it's decision, or will it, as it states, use the technologies it produced in this car for future models.

Personally I think they have made the worst mistake of the decade, this car could have given Jaguar creedance in the environmental argument, it would have also given them a reduction in the corporate CO2 levels, which is something that a lot of manufacturers are struggling with, anyway, it is down to you.

** quotes from Wikipedia

J. Mower
The Motoring World