C-X75 Jaguar

However the big news was under the rear compartment.
The concept car housed two gas turbines which powered electric motors. Speaking with CarAdvice, Gordon Snoddy, Global Jaguar Brand Manager, explained the reason behind choosing gas turbines.
“The main advantage is weight,” said Mr Snoddy. “The two engines only weigh 35kg each, yet they produce 95hp each.”

“They can also run on just about any fuel, which means they’re extremely versatile, which is great for future fuel research and alternative sources. They charge batteries very quickly, too, and they’re also extremely efficient.”

While the turbines don’t produce direct thrust (this isn’t the Batcar, remember), they supply generators linked to four 195hp electric motors, one for each wheel. So why won’t we see gas turbines in the production version of the C-X75? Gordon Snoddy tells us.

“The main problem is cooling. These turbines run extremely hot, and we haven’t quite got the cooling sorted yet,” said Mr Snoddy. “We have people working on that, in conjuction with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). It’s definitely the way of the future, we just have to overcome some hurdles first.”

It seems a strange path to take, until you realise that Jaguar’s parent company Tata has just taken a major stake in Bladon Jets. Jaguar says that it will develop this technology as a medium-term aspiration, and it will definitely play a part in Jaguar’s future.

Future Jaguars may well be run as hybrids powered by gas turbines, but in the mean time, the C-X75 will come to market with an F1-derived four-cylinder turbocharged engine run as a parallel hybrid with four powerful electric motors for each of the wheels. Efficiency is still the key here, with Jaguar touting that the 99g/km CO2 level has been achieved and is a certainty for the C-X75 production car.