Stunning jet cat from Jaguar is show star

The Jaguar C-X75 concept shown at Paris was much more than a super-cool looking cat. It brought to its time part of a technology which Rover-BRM first tried to make commercial back in the late 1950s.

The C-X75 is in once sense a celebration of 75 years of Jaguar cars. But its powertrain is unique because it uses gas turbines in an automotive extended-range EV context.

A plug-in electric car in the first instance, the quite gorgeous concept has four 195hp electric motors, one at each wheel, and the onboard battery can power the car for 110km/h on a charge.

On longer journeys, two micro gas turbines with a 188hp output capability can either recharge the batteries to extend the range to 900km, or directly supplement the electric motors. The powertrain can pull an awesome 1600Nm of torque.

The performance potential is 3.4 seconds to 100km/h. On the standard EU test cycle, the official emissions are 28g/km.

Construction is lightweight aluminium, developed by Jaguar for its current models.

But never mind all that. It just looks stunning. Whatever about the powertrain, expect to see the shape in the next generation XK.