Photo : - Jaguar Cars Limited

It is no secret that Jaguar is celebrating its 75th anniversary. To mark this event the company has launched a concept car with cutting-edge technology of the future and with style that echoes the legendary shapes of the past.

Born as Jaguars Cars Limited just after WW2 and evolved from the Swallow Sidecar Company, the British marque's historic zenith was during the mid 1950's with the D-types dominating the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1957 when they took five of the top six places. After a gloomy period of government ownership as part of British Leyland, in 1984 it was re-floated as a separate company. The privatised era was a time of rebirth for Jaguar and that led again to La Sarthe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, culminating in the 1988 victory of the Jaguar XJR-9LM driven by Johnny Dumfries, Andy Wallace, and Jan Lammers. Jaguar is a name that is quintessentially British and as such it is as dear to the hearts of the nation of it's birth. It evokes both a nostalgia for the 50's and a prestige that is undiluted. It has always been a marque that has been aspired to.

At the Paris Motor Show this week, Jaguar Cars presented a new concept car that could, if put into production, put the final nail in the coffin of idea that hybrid cars are dull. It is called the C-X75 and it is as stunning to look at as its statistics are mind-boggling. Four 145kW electric motors are fed by Lithium-ion batteries, giving it an equivalent of 780bhp that whisks it almost silently to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds. The bugbear of all electric cars is range and recharging. The C-X75 cracks the problem with an on-board recharging 'Range Extension' system that uses energy efficient gas micro-turbines to drive generators that provide the electrical power to push the range from a battery-only 68 miles to a more acceptable 560 miles. The turbines are essentially two miniature jet engines mounted high up behind the driver's head running at a staggering 80,000 rpm.

The car has flowing lines and styling cues that hark back to the 1950's but it is thoroghly forward-looking in design. A limited production of 1000 units per year is envisaged. If the C-X75 project bears fruit, Jaguar will be a pioneer in hybrid technology with turbines.

Dave Davies