British carmaker Jaguar is working hard developing the company’s upcoming C-X75 hypercar. It will be motivated by a 1.6-liter engine that will get not only a turbocharger but also a supercharger as well, being capable of producing about 500 hp and revving up to 10,000 rpm. This new power unit is going to supplement two electric motors which will be installed on the front & rear axles.
The vehicle has reached its prototype phase and the team at Jaguar says that this green hypercar will be able to do the 0-62 mph sprint in less than three seconds, on its way to a top speed of approximately 200 mph. While the 2010 concept had dual jet turbines, the production model will adopt a 4-cylinder gasoline engine. The company’s engineers worked very hard to turn the C-X75 into a viable hybrid, installing a liquid-cooled battery pack that weighs 200 kg, making it the heaviest component of the vehicle. This car will be capable of providing an electric range of up to 60 km, while without the conventional engine it will do the 0-62 mph sprint in just 6 seconds.
The battery pack will be installed as close to the car’s center as possible, sitting at only 85mm from the engine, which by the way is mid-mounted. The British automaker said that they have put a lot of work into packaging all of the C-X75’s heaviest parts within the wheelbase. Even the 7-speed automated manual gearbox is mounted in the rear within the wheel shadow. By not opting for a dual-clutch gearbox, Jaguar says that they have managed to shave off approximately 100 kg.
The production version of the C-X75 is going to utilize the company’s carbon fiber-intensive structure, a first for a car wearing the Jaguar badge. It will have a bonded monocoque which will be formed from a carbon fiber tub and will be connected to the rear frame. This has been co-developed with the Williams F1 team so it features some of the technology found on F1 cars.
Originally, it was said that the Jaguar C-X75 would get a 1.6-liter engine similar to what the upcoming F1 cars will have but Jaguar mentioned that this is an entirely new power unit that has been developed in-house. Since this engine will get a turbocharger and a supercharger, it will feature direct and port-fed injection for maximizing power or efficiency, depending on what the driver wants.
The power is used either for motivating the rear wheels or for charging the battery pack, supplementing the energy transferred through a wet clutch by the electric motor sitting on the car’s rear axle. This is transferred through the gearbox while the electric motor sitting on the front axle is on a single transmission that can work through the entire performance spectrum of the hypercar. This will never decouple so we’re dealing with a permanent 4WD car, which Jaguar says that it’s an important factor for providing the C-X75 with great handling capabilities.
Although there aren’t any confirmed details regarding the design of the car, chances are that it will borrow some of the styling cues seen on the concept presented in 2010 at the Paris Motor Show, meaning that the hyper will benefit from active aerodynamics which will improve the cooling. To cope with the significant amount of generated heat, the Jaguar C-X75 has no less than 11 radiators.
If all goes according to plan, Jaguar will build approximately 200 units of this amazing hypercar, while its price tag will be somewhere between 700,000 and 900,000 pounds.
Source: Jaguar via Autocar.co.uk
