Jaguar C-X75 production run canceled

Tue, 11 Dec 2012

"We feel we could make the car work, but looking at the global austerity measures in place now, it seems the wrong time to launch an 800,000-pound to 1 million-pound supercar."

Those words are from Jaguar Global Brand Director Adrian Hallmark, and as true as they may be, it still stings a little bit. After all, we've been looking forward to the Jaguar C-X75 ever since word came from Jolly Olde that it was green-lit for a short production run.

Some of the cool bits and pieces the world will now be without: a powerful but relatively miserly 1.6-liter turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder engine, two electric motors driving all four wheels and a carbon fiber chassis developed by Williams F1. Sigh.

All is not lost, however. According to Autocar, Jaguar says five working prototypes will be completed, and as many as three of those will be sold at auction, though we don't know if they will be legal for street use. Jaguar will also be able to carry 60 percent of the C-X75's weight-saving and hybrid powertrain technology in future products.

And, lest we forget, those wealthy individuals holding out for a ridiculously fast and stupendously expensive hybrid supercar can always plunk down some cash for the Porsche 918...

By Jeremy Korzeniewski